European Union (EU) citizens are pessimistic about their national economy and take inflation and unemployment as their biggest concerns, according to a survey, whose results were released Tuesday.
The spring 2008 "Standard Eurobarometer" survey shows a significant decline of confidence among EU citizens in their national economy in comparison with autumn 2007.
Overall, 46 percent of EU citizens believe that the situation of their national economy will be worse in the next 12 months, compared to 26 percent in autumn 2007. A third of them believe the economy will remain the same and only 16 percent think it will improve.
Thirty-seven percent of EU citizens now consider inflation as the most important issue in their country at the moment. Unemployment, with 24 percent, is the second most important issue.
"These results reflect the current economic difficulties and show the need for the EU to continue with its policy agenda aimed at improving the quality of people's daily lives," said Margot Wallstrom, European Commission vice president, who is in charge of institutional relations and communication strategy.
Support for EU membership has declined to 52 percent, as compared to 58 percent in autumn 2007.
Overall, 50 percent of EU citizens tend to trust the EU while 32 percent tend to trust their national government and 34 percent their national parliament. Support for the EU increased by 2 percentage points.
The survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews by TNS Opinion & Social. A total of 30,170 people were interviewed between March 25 and May 4, 2008. Standard Eurobarometer surveys take place twice a year in spring and in autumn.
Source:Xinhua
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