Overview
- The European Parliament’s Eurobarometer, published on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, found 74% of respondents across the EU say their country benefits from membership, the highest reading in about 40 years.
- German confidence in the EU’s future fell sharply to 48%, down from nearly 70% a year earlier and below the 59% EU-wide optimism rate recorded in the same survey.
- Respondents across the EU said changes to their financial situation (43%), access to and quality of health care (37%), and social life (34%) would most improve their quality of life.
- In Germany voters named energy independence (41%), defence and security (38%) and competitiveness (37%) as top EU priorities, and many want the European Parliament to focus on inflation (46%), defence (43%) and jobs (33%).
- The survey is a twice-yearly, representative snapshot based on 26,421 interviews across the EU and 1,507 in Germany, and it highlights a gap between strong present approval and worries about the bloc’s future that may steer the Parliament’s agenda.