“Now is the time to deliver”. EU must act, as study finds that most citizens are worried about the cost of living
The EU must address its economic woes on the continent, as 93% of Europeans are reported to be worried about the rising cost of living. Half of the EU’s population stated that their standard of living has been reduced as a result of a world in crisis.
These statistics follow a European Parliament Eurobarometer survey*, of which the results were released on 12 January this year. Citizens stated that they now expect the EU to continue working towards solutions to mitigate the “compounding effects of the consecutive crises that have hit the continent”.
Here is a statistical breakdown of what the report found:
Europeans worry about cost of living
According to the report, more than seven in ten respondents in every EU Member State are worried about the rising cost of living. These worries extend to the increasingly rising prices of energy and food. Worries over living costs were 100% of respondents in Greece, 99% in Cyprus and 98% in both Italy and Portugal.
Cost worry is felt across socio economic backgrounds
Furthermore, the study found that the concern surrounding the cost of living is felt across socio-demographic categories, including gender, age, education and socio-professional backgrounds.
World crises are already affecting citizens
The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine have contributed to the financial stress felt by almost half (46%) of the EU population, this report found. Although 39% of the respondents indicated that they were yet to see their standard of living reduced, they did expect it to be the case in the next year. According to the study, another “telling indicator” of the growing economic constraints is the increase of citizens facing bill-paying difficulties. These difficulties were indicated as “most of the time” or “sometimes”, and saw a nine point increase from 30% to 39% since Autumn 2021.
Crises lead to more trust in the EU, but…
Interestingly, the study also found that these world crises – particularly the Russian war – have led to more citizen support in the European Union.
62% of respondents see EU membership as a ‘good thing’ (the highest statistic since 2007)
72% believe that their country has benefited from being a member of the EU
Two thirds consider their country’s EU membership important
Although there is certainly a level of trust in the EU, citizens also indicated that they are not satisfied by the actions taken at EU level to improve the effects of the earlier-mentioned crises on the continent. Only a third of Europeans were satisfied with how the EU is tackling the rising cost of living.
So, what now? The EU must act
European Parliament President Robert Metsola emphasized the need for the EU to deliver solutions to their citizens. “People are understandably worried about the rising cost of living, as more and more families [struggle to make ends meet],” Metsola said.
Metsola added that the EU must:
Bring bills under control
Push back inflation
Make the economy grow
Protect the most vulnerable in our societies
I agree with President Metsola that it is time for the EU to act and deliver solutions to tackle the economic challenges faced by its citizens. I expect the EU will release a detailed plan of how they plan to address these issues, and then, as with all government planning, they should be held accountable to deliver on their promises.
Are you feeling the effects of a higher cost of living?
(*) This survey was conducted by Kantar between 12 October and 7 November in all 27 EU Member States. This was a face-to-face survey with interviews, and a total of 26,431 interviews were conducted. Results were weighted according to the size of the population of each country.
