How satisfied are Europeans with the EU?

Do European Union citizens feel their priorities and main needs are met by the bloc? The latest survey by the European Parliament’s Spring 2025 Eurobarometer paints a fairly positive picture of cautious approval mixed with a clear demand for more action.

Europeans still see the European Union as a force for stability in a turbulent world, with nearly three-quarters (73%) saying their country benefits from membership. This is one of the highest levels ever recorded.

Most people also feel like the EU impacts their everyday lives, though this is not universally seen as a good thing. Half of respondents (50%) say the impact is positive, 31% describe it as neither good nor bad, and 18% see the EU’s influence as negative.

Meanwhile, confidence in the EU is rising, as slightly more than half (52%) of Europeans said they have a positive image of the bloc.

This is a level matched only twice in the last two decades (in 2021 and 2022). Meanwhile, 42% believe that the EU is moving in the right direction, up seven percentage points since early 2025.

Optimism about the future is also strong: two-thirds of citizens say they are hopeful about what’s ahead for the EU, rising to 72% among 15- to 24-year-olds.

Economic challenges

But satisfaction is not the same as contentment. When asked what the EU should focus on, European respondents were very clear. 

Cost of living and inflation remain the top concerns, cited by 41% of respondents. This is followed by defence and security (34%), and the fight against poverty and social exclusion (31%). 

These three issues alone reveal the pressure Europeans feel in their daily lives: economic strain, global instability, and growing inequality.

Crucially, many citizens indicated that they don’t just want the EU to notice these challenges; they want it to do more.

No fewer than 90% believe that EU member states should be more united in tackling global challenges, and 68% argued that the EU itself should take on a bigger role in protecting citizens from global crises and security threats. 

The desire for a more capable and responsive EU cuts across age, gender, while political attitude is one of the few points of near-universal agreement across the continent.

And this demand for stronger action is matched by a call for more democratic control, as an overwhelming 91% of Europeans believe the European Parliament should have full access to information and tools needed to oversee EU spending.

Protecting democracies

At the same time, 85% support linking the allocation of EU funds to a country’s respect for the rule of law and democratic principles. In other words, support for EU unity and investment is high, but citizens want checks and balances, transparency, and fairness.

As for the EU’s long-term budget, only 36% of respondents said they’ve heard about the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), but they still have strong opinions about how it should work. 

More than three-quarters (78%) believe that more future projects should be jointly funded at the EU level, rather than left to individual countries. Meanwhile, 73% say they support creating new EU-specific sources of revenue, such as taxes on greenhouse gas emissions or corporate profits, to reduce dependence on national contributions.

There is also strong support for ensuring that budget funds are well-managed. Over 90% of citizens considered transparency, efficiency, flexibility and traceability to be essential aspects of how the EU budget should operate.