According to Cypriot respondents who participated in a recent Eurobarometer survey on the EU’s problems and priorities, the main problems facing the European Union are the fight against illegal migration, the cost of living, terrorism and security issues.

According to the same results, on average, EU citizens single out the war in Ukraine, migration and climate change as the main problems.

In particular, with regard to problems, the most common responses chosen by Cypriots were illegal migration (64 percent compared to 41 percent in the EU), the cost of living (48 percent, 32 percent), terrorism and security issues (35 percent, 29 percent), followed by the war in Ukraine (28 percent, 50 percent), as well as environmental and climate change issues (28 percent, 35 percent).

Respondents in Cyprus most often named illegal migration as priority areas of EU activity (50%, 33% in the EU), followed by security and defense (32%, 29%), environment and climate change (30%, 33%) and the war in Ukraine (12%, 25%).

Flash Eurobarometer 550 was conducted in the period from June 25 to July 2, 2024 in 27 member States. 25,658 EU citizens took part in the online survey, of which 506 were in Cyprus.

When asked how they see the future of the EU, 59% said they were optimistic (8% very optimistic, 51% rather optimistic), and 37% were pessimistic (29% rather, 8% very). On average across the EU, 58% said they were optimistic (11% very, 47% rather) and 37% said they were pessimistic (28% rather, 9% very).

However, 73% of Cypriots (64% in the EU) said they are concerned about the security of the EU in the next five years (21% are very concerned and 52% are more concerned in Cyprus, and 17% are very concerned and 47% are more concerned in the EU).

Regarding the EU’s economic prospects for the next five years, Cypriots were somewhat less optimistic than the EU average: 36% said they were confident in the results of the EU economy (4% — very confident, 32% — rather confident) compared to 50% in the EU (8% — very confident, 42% — rather confident), while 51% of Cypriots were less confident (45% — rather unsure, 16% — very confident) compared to 45% in the EU (32% and 13%).

Regarding the strength of EU democracy in the next five years, 53% of Cypriots said they are confident (12% are very confident, 41% are rather confident), while in the EU the corresponding percentage was 55% (10%, 45%). In addition, 45% of Cypriots were unsure (36% were rather unsure, 9% were very confident), compared with 41% in the EU (28%, 13%).

A source: cyprus-mail.com

https://cyprusbutterfly.com.cy/news/bolshe-vsego-kipriotyi-obespokoenyi-migracziej