EUROBAROMETER SPECIAL BUREAUX (2002) Executive Summary Survey carried out for the European Commission s Representation in Germany «This document does not reflect the views of the European Commission. Any interpretations or opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors alone
After the Euro: Information behaviour, attitudes towards enlargement and the EU Dr. Christian Holst INRA DEUTSCHLAND 1. Summary 1.1. Information-sources The most frequently used sources of information are television, daily newspapers and radio. These are also the most preferred information media. New media like internet, CD-ROM etc. are more frequently used by younger people, classical media more by elderly. Two thirds of those who named television or daily newspapers as useful information sources, quoted the coverage as being very or fairly informative. A clear absolute majority also thinks of it as being objective. There is a great demand for information about the aims and objectives of the European Union, while only a minority declares that these issues are usually covered by television and the daily newspapers. Thus, background information about the EU is clearly missing in the coverage. On the other hand, there is an information glut about the Euro. Here, more information is available than people require. Only a small minority of the interviewees know of the EU information services. Accordingly, almost none of the respondents has ever asked these services for information. The more directly an area of politics touches the citizen s day- to-day life, the more interest there is about it. The most important topics are information about the rights of EU citizens, consequences of the introduction of the Euro, actions by the EU to fight unemployment and crime, as well as the aims and objectives of the EU. Across all the member states of the EU, one in three respondents declares that they personally use the internet. Here, Germany matches the EU average. However, comparing between the EU member states as well as comparing between the different socio-demographic
groups, we can recognise clear differences in use of the Internet the digital divide that separates those in contact with this medium from those that do not have access to this new technology yet. There are only a few people in the German population who would like to make contact with EU institutions. When they do so, they prefer to use classical methods to establish contact such as writing letters or faxing. Germans have little interest in what people from other member states of the EU or people from the candidate countries think about the future of Europe. Only a relative minority states that they are very or fairly interested, while over one in two respondents is not very or not at all interested. In this result, the Germans lie just below the EU average. 1.2. Enlargement Only one in five of the respondents feels very well informed or well informed about EU enlargement. With this self-perceived degree of information, Germany is just above the EU average. Overall, the proportion who feel well informed or very well informed has fallen slightly in comparison to result from Eurobarometer 55. A small minority of the respondents have received no information about enlargement; further, only a small minority admits to participating in the discussion on enlargement. The interviewees know all candidate countries at least by name. It is not surprising that there are great differences in the answers from East Germans and West Germans to the question about which of the candidate countries they have already visited the previous orientation of East Germans towards countries of the former Warsaw pact as well as COMECON can still be observed. Although a majority of the population has visited individual candidate countries, the relationship with these countries is limited to vacation trips. Almost nine of ten interviewees declared that they had no relationship with any of the candidate countries beyond making vacation trips.
The most preferred candidate countries are Hungary, Turkey, and the Czech Republic; East Germans tend to prefer the Czech Republic and West Germans tend to prefer Turkey. The respondents mainly wish to get information about Turkey, Cyprus, and Hungary as well as Malta - in each case mainly on tourism and culture. Other countries and subjects play only a subordinate role. The Germans prefer to choose among the countries that want to join the EU. Only a minority want to welcome all countries, a somewhat bigger minority does not want any new countries to join. Germany is seen as the biggest beneficiary of enlargement. However, half of the respondents do not expect an improvement of their personal situation through enlargement. One in five expect a deterioration in their personal situation, while only one in ten expect an improvement. The main reasons of those who expect a deterioration of their personal situation are fears of unemployment, costs connected with enlargement and an increase in crime. In all these areas, German respondents are much more fearful than the average across the European Union. A minority of those who expect an improvement of their situation through enlargement ascribe this improvement to better economic prospects in a bigger market as well as a lower risk of armed conflicts in Europe. The most important general benefit through enlargement is seen in the unification of the continent as well as in maintaining peace. With regard to the economic aspects of enlargement, the interviewees mention the simplification in freedom of establishment, a greater variety of products in the shops as well as a benefit for companies in Germany. More than half of the respondents assume that a considerable number of people will move from the new member countries into Germany. This feeling is higher in Germany than elsewhere within the EU. This influx is seen as a negative development by three quarters of the respondents. Respondents with low levels of formal education are most likely to
think of this as a negative development. Fear of unemployment, crime, the black economy, and abuses of the social system are foremost among their concerns. More than half of the respondents expect a considerable number of commuters to come into Germany as a result of enlargement. These fears are greatest in East Germany. A large majority of respondents sees this as a bad thing. Compared to other countries which share a common border with the candidate countries, Germans are most likely to have these negative opinions. All in all, these two questions show that the movement of people as immigrants or as commuters which is expected to accompany enlargement is viewed negatively by a majority of the respondents, and that the main reason for this attitude is economic fears about jobs. A majority of respondents want the speed of enlargement to stay the same. However, support for enlargement is declining somewhat in Germany, as well as across the EU. 1.3. EU from a socio-political perspective Germans display neutral feelings towards the European Union, while the average sentiment towards the Union across all the other Member States is somewhat more positive. This perception is influenced by political interest: supporters of the government parties assess the EU somewhat more positively than supporters of the opposition parties. In all countries, the proportion of respondents who perceive the EU to be heading in the right direction is higher than the proportion of those who perceive it to be moving in the wrong direction. In Germany the proportion of those who perceive the EU as moving in the right direction is one of the smallest across the EU. However there is no major feeling that it is moving in the wrong direction On the one hand, the two most positive aspects of the EU, measured as those most frequently mentioned by respondents, are the Euro (single currency, no exchange needed, easier payment) and the possibility for free movement of people when travelling. On the other hand, the spectrum of negative aspects is more broadly scattered. Most frequently mentioned however only by one in five respondents are rising prices and the
risk of inflation. The fear of higher unemployment and fewer jobs in Germany are also mentioned by a few respondents. Other reasons given are, in descending order, crime, insecurity, drug trafficking and abuse, more foreigners, illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, black market workers, as well as the end of national currency. However, four out of ten respondents were not able to reply to or did not want to reply to this question. The highest priority tasks for the EU are in basic areas, which can be described as social and political security. More concrete political tasks are also considered to be of prime importance by a majority of respondents. The lowest priority for action by the EU is in general political areas such as reform of the internal organisation of the EU. Leaving aside priorities and perceived gaps in efficiency, the EU is seen as being most effective in maintaining peace and security and in implementing the Euro, followed by the protection of individual rights and the principles of democracy. The EU is also seen to be effective, by a smaller proportion of respondents, in equal amounts in each of the following areas: guaranteeing the quality of food and protecting consumer rights, representation of the EU, supporting economic growth, protecting the environment, and fighting organised crime and drug trafficking. A large majority, seven out of ten interviewees, holds the opinion that German membership of the EU is a major or at least a slight advantage when it comes to defending German interests. Only a small minority quotes this as a slight or major disadvantage. To qualify the general support for membership of the European Union, the question is how are decisions taken jointly in the EU evaluated. These are overall rated lower than decisions for their own country. In Germany, the proportion of those who find that decisions taken by the EU are rather good for Germany is lower than the EU average, the proportion of those that find these decisions are generally bad is a little higher than the EU average. German respondents feel that decisions made by the EU are not as favourable towards them personally as they are for the country as a whole.
On the one hand, more than half of the interviewees hold the opinion that Germany has a very major or major influence on decisions within the EU; on the other hand only a comparatively small minority agrees that citizens have an influence on EU decisions. Only a minority of the respondents is under the impression that they understand how the EU works. This is related to the impression that most of the respondents hold, that their voice does not count and that they do not feel that they are represented by their ministers. Instead they feel that EU legislation is made in the interests of big business. On the other hand, most of the respondents realise that decisions taken in Brussels affect their everyday life. For the EU this means that the democratic deficit is also a deficit of legitimacy: citizens feel that they mave to submit to regulations on which they do not have any influence, which have been made by representatives who do not represent their interests, and which are made above all to suit big companies The national governments, the EU commission and the European Parliament have the biggest influence within the EU from the point of view of the population. Big companies are also named by one in three interviewees; lobbyists are mentioned by only a minority of the interviewees. From the German as well as from the European point of view, the biggest influence within the European Union is clearly attributed to France and Germany. France is given the highest level of influence by Germans; Germany is deemed the most influential by all Europeans.