These are figures which go against the grain of what is sometimes implied, of a European Union rejected by a majority of citizens and dominated by Eurosceptics. According to a study published this Tuesday, May 28, Europeans in favor of their country leaving the EU or the single currency are in reality a very large minority, including among voters of far-right parties.
According to this survey, carried out by the Ipsos institute for Fondapol in the 27 EU countries, only 13% of voters would like to see their country leave the European Union. The countries in which the weight of voters wanting to leave the EU is the greatest are Bulgaria (22%), the Czech Republic (20%), Austria (19%), but also France (18%). Conversely, only 3% of Portuguese, 5% of Lithuanians or 5% of Spaniards want to leave the European Union.
A large proportion of voters nevertheless find themselves in the middle: if they say they are unfavorable to the European Union, they do not want to see their country leave it. This is the case for 18% of citizens across EU member states. But also nearly 25% of voters in France or the Netherlands, 23% of them in Hungary, or even 15% of respondents in Germany.
For countries that have adopted the euro, only 8% want to return to their national currency. The highest figure is in Croatia (14%), the last country to adopt the single currency, and the lowest again in Portugal (3%). It is 10% in France.
A real shift of the European extreme right?
Another significant conclusion from this study: the voters of European far-right parties also seem overwhelmingly… in favor of remaining in the EU. This is the case for 66% of voters who intend to vote for a party that is a member of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament, the group to which the National Rally belongs. The figure is even higher (80%) for voters of a party that is a member of the group of European Conservatives and Reformists (CRE) of which Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party is a member, the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia party.
The same goes for the euro, which 78% of voters in the ID group and 90% in the CRE group are in favor of. “Populist voters are overwhelmingly in favor of the euro, leading populist leaders to convert to the idea of a European currency if not to lose their voters,” explains Fondapol. “Anti-European parties are seriously mistaken if they think they can convince people to proclaim their sovereignty by renouncing the European Union,” concludes the liberal think tank.
A strategy which is reflected in the evolution of the political program of these parties, which seem to have adopted this electoral pragmatism. In France, for example, the National Rally seems to have abandoned the idea of leaving the EU or the single currency, which it still defended in its program during the 2017 presidential election, in favor of more vague measures. on its relationship to the European institutions.
In Italy, after having been in her campaign very critical of the EU, Prime Minister Georgia Meloni seems to have favored a strategy of compromise with Brussels, like her absolute support for the Asylum and Migration Pact, although widely rejected by many other far-right parties within the EU.
European institutions clearly gaining confidence
This attachment to the European Union is also found through the only example of a Member State having chosen to leave it: Brexit. Thus, according to the study, only 21% of Europeans believe that the United Kingdom “is doing better outside the EU”, and 77% of them even say they are in favor of the return of the British to the EU. . On this question, Ipsos also surveyed the British, for their part today almost 68% want to return to the EU.
According to Fondapol, “citizens’ support for the European Union is also reflected in the trust they place in the European Commission (57%) and the European Parliament (57%).” Figures up 10% compared to the last survey, conducted only three years ago. But which are above all “significantly higher than the trust that citizens place in their national political institutions, whether it is the government of their country (44%) or their national parliament (51%)”, details the group of reflection.
The investigation finally sheds light on the consequences of the war waged by Russia against Ukraine. A third of respondents (32%) cite it as the first or second reason for their vote in the June 9 election. A figure which approaches or exceeds 50% in the Baltic countries and Poland, but also reaches 41% in Germany, while it is only 26% in France. Different reasons to support the European Union, but support which remains in the majority: enough to raise hope a few days before the European elections.