A new Eurobarometer survey has shown that rising prices and the cost of living are the main concerns in nearly all EU countries. Particularly deep pessimism about the future has been noted in France and Austria, according to Euronews.
In Western member states, the proportion of negative responses is generally higher; France leads the way, with 44% of respondents—a record high for the entire EU—expecting their situation to worsen.
Similar results were recorded in Portugal, Germany, and Austria, while in Northern Europe, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe, the mood is noticeably more optimistic. In Poland, only 9% of residents expect their situation to worsen, and in Hungary, the level of economic pessimism is the lowest in the EU—at just 8%.
This general pessimism about the future is accompanied by growing concern over “inflation, rising prices, and the cost of living”—these are precisely the issues citizens most frequently cited as priorities for the European Parliament’s agenda.
For 47% of EU citizens, this is the main issue—6 percentage points more than in the previous survey, where it already ranked first. This is followed by priorities such as “the economy and job creation” and “EU defense and security.”
Nearly one-third of respondents (27%) said their quality of life had deteriorated over the past 12 months; 11% believe it has improved, while 62% say it has remained the same.
