Majority of Europeans Desire European Union to Safeguard Them; Romanians Show Less Fervor
In the winter of 2025, a Eurobarometer survey showcased that an overwhelming majority of Europeans crave the EU to step up its role in safeguarding them against global crises and security threats. However, Romania, standing at a paltry 47%, trails behind even Poland (44%) in this regard.
The survey revealed a strong consensus on several crucial issues. First and foremost, 89% of European citizens, including 75% of Romanians, advocate for increased unity among EU member states to face current global challenges. Romania, unfortunately, holds the lowest percentage of agreement on this statement.
Moving forward, more than six in ten Europeans (62%) aspire to see the European Parliament wield more influence, representing a noteworthy 6-point increase from February-March 2024. Among Romanian respondents, 58% long for a more powerful European Parliament, a 5-point increase from pre-election months.
Interestingly, 76% of Europeans (71% of Romanian respondents) believe the EU requires additional resources to tackle future challenges.
"Two-thirds of Europeans yearn for the EU to take a more significant role in their protection. This is a clear battle cry, and we will answer it. Europe needs to grow stronger to assure the safety of its citizens. The European Parliament will guarantee that every proposal in this regard is daring and aggressive enough to match the alarming degree of threats hurled towards Europe. Europe must act now, or risk becoming irrelevant tomorrow," declared European Parliament president Roberta Metsola.
The survey indicates that defense and security (36%), alongside competitiveness, economy, and industry (32%), are identified by European citizens as key areas the EU should bolster to fortify its global position. While defense and security figures remain stable compared to February/March 2024, the focus on competitiveness, economy, and industry has surged by 5 points.
Energy independence (27%), food security and agriculture (25%), and education and research (23%) follow as the next areas of focus for the EU. For Romanian citizens, the priorities the EU should concentrate on to strengthen its global position are food security and agriculture (32%), defense and security (31%), followed by competitiveness, economy, and industry (29%), energy independence, resources, and infrastructure (26%), EU values, such as democracy and human rights protection (23%), education and research (21%), foreign relations and diplomacy (19%), and demographics, migration, and population aging (19%).
Economic and security issues command the forefront of concerns that citizens want the European Parliament to address as a top priority. Four in ten Europeans cite inflation, escalating prices, and skyrocketing living costs (43%) as their paramount concerns, followed by EU defense and security (31%), combating poverty and social exclusion (31%), and uplifting the economy and creating new jobs (29%).
Inflation, rising prices, and the cost of living are the top concerns across all age groups, with the highest levels of anxiety surfacing in Portugal (57%), France (56%), Slovakia (56%), Croatia (54%), and Estonia (54%).
Romanian citizens are inclined to prioritize issues like inflation, rising prices, and the cost of living (44%), boosting the economy and generating new job opportunities (38%), and combating poverty and social exclusion (30%).
As for the values Europeans desire the European Parliament to uphold, peace (45%), democracy (32%), and human rights protection within the EU and worldwide (22%) garner the highest ranking. The results for this question remain consistent.
However, Romanian citizens hope the European Parliament will champion values such as peace (30%), freedom of movement (26%), and democracy (25%).
Sources: radu@our website, Dreamstime.com, [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]
- The survey results indicate a significant call from Europeans for a stronger European Union, with 89% advocating for increased unity among member states to tackle global challenges.
- The European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola, has declared that the institution will ensure proposals to enhance EU's role in safeguarding citizens are bold and aggressive, addressing defense and security, competitiveness, and the economy as key areas for fortification.
- In contrast to the general consensus on the EU requiring additional resources to tackle future challenges (76%), Romania has the lowest percentage of agreement on this statement.
- While economic and security issues are the top priorities for the majority of Europeans, Romanian citizens prioritize inflation, rising prices, boosting the economy, and combating poverty as their primary concerns.
