A NEW DEBATING EUROPE SURVEY

Posted on October 3, 2013 8:27 am by brusselsdiplomatic in EU // 0 Comments

A major new Gallup poll conducted for the online discussion platform Debating Europe has found that a majority of Europeans believe that the austerity policies pursued in Europe since the start of the crisis have failed and there are better alternatives available.

The survey found that 60% of Europeans believe there are better alternatives to austerity, including 94% of Greeks, 81% of Portuguese and 80% of Spaniards. Even in Germany, which has long been seen as a champion of fiscal consolidation, 50% feel that there are better options out there and only 25% think there is no alternative to austerity.

When asked if austerity policies were working, 51% said they believe they have failed, whilst only 5% said they were working (with 34% saying they would take more time). 67% believe that austerity only benefits some countries.

In total, only 16% of Europeans think there is no credible alternative to austerity.

Only about one in five citizens felt that the austerity policies enforced by the European Union would serve the interests of the whole of Europe (22%); most respondents in fact felt that these policies are only serving the interests of certain countries. When asked which countries they think these policies benefit, they most often indicated the largest member states contributing most to the financial facilities: Germany (77%), France (48%) and the UK (39%). Countries receiving financial aid out of the EFSF were much less frequently mentioned as unilateral beneficiaries of the European financial austerity system (Greece: 23%, Portugal: 11%, Ireland: 9%).The poll, conducted by Gallup on behalf of Debating Europe, surveyed a sample of 6,177 respondents, selected proportionally to the population in each EU member state. The results of the poll were presented today at Debating Europe’s Vote 2014 live debate, which was held duringFriends of Europe’s tenth annual “State of Europe” VIP roundtable in Brussels. The following senior MEPs and party leaders were participating: Jacek Saryusz-Wolski MEP, Vice President of the European People’s Party Group (EPP), Hannes Swoboda, Chairman of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Guy Verhofstadt, Chairman of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the European Green Party,and Martin Callanan, Chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).

Commenting on the results, Hannes Swoboda, Chairman of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), said:

“Austerity cannot work in the short time and it will be disastrous in the long term. Having a very efficient public spending is important, but having investment targeted into growth and jobs is equally important.”

Martin Callanan MEP, Chairman of the Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), commented:

“This idea that somehow we face a choice between austerity and growth – by which people mean more spending – is a false choice. The problem in Europe was too much borrowing and too much spending – we won’t solve this problem by borrowing and spending even more.”

Finally, Monica Frassoni, Co-President of the European Green Party, added:

“I think Europeans are right… this is a powerful stimulus for us to go on wanting to change these policies. We’ve been saying since 2010 that cutting and cutting won’t change the situation, even if many member states need internal reforms.”