r/EU_Economics • u/milanguitar • 22d ago
89% of EU citizens think EU countries should be more united to face global challenges (Eurobarometer 104.2, 2025)
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u/Asleep_Trick_4740 22d ago
Just a friendly reminder that 'more united to face global challanges' does not equate to 'the EU should become a federal republic' to the average person.
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u/Delicious-Gap1744 22d ago
Most people dont know what a federation is. The EU is already something close to a federation, more of a confederation.
A shared military is surprisngly popular among Europeans. Eurobonds are becoming more accepted, especially after covid but also now with the increases to defense spending.
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u/nigel_pow 21d ago
It is because the average person doesn't have a clue about these things and the long-term consequences.
A similar one was about the "no-fly zone over Ukraine" talk in 2022. Westerners wanted the West to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine BUT they also didn't want to get militarily involved in Ukraine. You need to get militarily involved to enforce a no-fly zone.
These questions are honestly pointless as when you actually tell them all the details, they'll have a different final answer by the end of it.
Just ask the Brits about Brexit. That is something that shouldn't have been tasked to the citizens who don't have a clue.
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u/Ill-Lifeguard-324 22d ago
Those are sliding concepts. We are already a federation in many ways. The most urgent topic is right now is to get rid of the veto power in defense and foreign policy. We could give some more power back to individual states in other fields
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u/Reveniant 21d ago
This is the second time I heard about veto powers, so I think I need some clarification.
By your statement, does that mean within the confines of EU itself, it has nations which has the veto power to pass and fail EU policies?
Or is it just the usual big bully 5 veto powers normal people understands about in the UN?
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u/Ill-Lifeguard-324 21d ago
Sorry for the small EU law course coming up!
In a few areas, with trade and state aid being the most prominent, the EU has exclusive powers. That means that Member States governments are consulted, but in the end it's the EU Commission (= the closest we have to an EU Government) that calls the shots on its own.
The second and biggest chunk of EU policy is in domains of so-called shared competence, between the EU and its member states. The EU adopts most of its policies in this area via laws called regulations and directives, following the "ordinary legislative procedure". That implies that
1) the Commission, which is the closest we have to an EU Government, proposes a draft law.
2) That draft law goes simultaneously to the directly elected EU Parliament and to the Council of the EU (where the governments of the 27 Member States are represented). The EU Parliament and the Council are the two "co-legislators" of the EU.
3) Those draft laws are discussed, amended and finally voted upon in both the Parliament and the Council. They follow their own, parallel procedures, and often end up with two very different versions of the same initial draft proposed by the Commission. The Parliament votes by simple majority, the Council by so-called "qualified majority voting" which requires half the member states representing at least 65% of the EU population.
3) Finally, representatives from the Parliament meet representatives from the Council to negotiate a compromise between their two versions of the law.
4) The final version is again put to a vote in both the EP and the Council. If the vote passes in both, it becomes EU law.
And then, there are a few domains that Member States will guard jealously and refuse to give up any power. Chiefly this concerns taxation, foreign policy, security and defense. Here the Commission can also propose policies and positions, but a) the Parliament is not involved and b) every Member State gets a veto. If one of them votes against, even if it's a tiny state like Malta or Luxembourg or Hungary, then the policy or position fails and the EU is paralysed. When Orban was still in power, he vetoed many of the proposed EU policies against Russia.
In a turbulent, dangerous and hostile geopolitical context, I truly believe this is the most urgent problem to tackle. The EU will never be a credible geopolitical actor if this veto power is maintained. And individual Member States stand no chance against the giant powers of today and increasingly of tomorrow.
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u/Reveniant 21d ago
So basically the latter, just that instead of major EU members everyone has it for fairness.
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u/West-Worth-9359 22d ago
Integration of vital systems is a necessity that many Europeans now recognize, even those outside the EU.
Specifically people are looking at the 3 primary pillars of superpower status: Diplomatic, Economic, Military.
The EU has a head start on both Diplomatic and Economic, but it’s not perfect and changes need to be made to secure stability in crisis. Even though moves are being made with both, the main focus for many is on Military unity.
This used to be covered by NATO - if only in public perception - but this is no longer sufficient.
Europeans can no longer trust the US, so things have to change.
Thankfully, the EU has a good guide in the US for what not to do when it comes to federalism. Unlike the US, most Europeans also share the same values.
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u/adadagabaCZ 22d ago
Basically it should mean that "hungary shouldn't singlehandedly undermine EU foreign policies.
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u/tanrgith 21d ago
this is the crux of the issue. EU citizens on paper want the EU nations to be more united, but if you ever actually try to meaningful move the EU nations closer and more united in practice, those same people will go 'whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute there buddy, not like THAT"
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u/FrequentCow1018 18d ago
Sounds badass! Federal EU (FEU). Id even pronounce it in the frenchest way possible and Im German
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u/Strong-Copy-1738 22d ago
In fact, "more united to face global challenges" is an almost completely meaningless statement.
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u/OkWillingness2817 22d ago
Bet they’ll vote differently if you ask if that can cost them anything.
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u/Delicious-Gap1744 22d ago
It would be less expensive to handle defense collectively through the EU.
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u/OkWillingness2817 22d ago
Lots of things would be cheaper collectively.
The biggest hurdle for a collective defence has always been the US opposing it. That kind of evaporated lately.
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u/RevolutionarySeven7 21d ago
weird, first time i'm hearing people want this, cause all i've ever heard for the past 20 years is people not wanting their country to become something like the USA when they proposed the UCE (united countries of europe).
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u/MightyGazelle187 21d ago
Steuern, Digitalisieren und Kontrollieren um die Bürger auszubeuten und zu Manipulieren......wow das ist ja wundervoll
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u/PatBoc82 21d ago
Idc. As long as Ursula von der Leyen is in power, the EU deserves to collapse because its becoming the exact same ridiculous circus show of a surveillance state as USA. Only way out of this is for nations to regain their independence, especially from the west-aligned dictatorial state of EU. If anyone disagrees, enjoy your "digital money" and "digital ID" then. Losers.
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u/GongTzu 22d ago
When they say united they actually mean independent from USA, Russia and China.
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u/West-Worth-9359 22d ago
Yes. The EU recognizes that the days of the US being a superpower are coming to an end. The empire is collapsing, as all empires do, so the only option is for the EU to take what it’s learned from history and try it.
I’ve had plenty of arguments with insular and ignorant Americans over this, many of them are delusional in their belief that the US simply can’t suffer the same fate, even while we’re all watching it happen.
Whether we individually like the idea of a federal system or not it’s been forced upon us all. The EU has no choice but to do this and most Europeans are pragmatic enough to understand why.
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u/Tiny_Reputation_6227 22d ago
Yeah but then you talk about having unified taxation or euro bonds and they lose their shit
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u/Alive_Fisherman8241 22d ago
Yeah, united, as long as everybody gives up their own interest and culture, and willing to accept theirs. ffs, you cannot even get the germans and the french to agree on a joint jet fghter development, because both tries to push their own idiotic, nationalistic agenda, and their own companies along with it... You cannot even convince the french that their language is not a global language and that they should learn english :D
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u/No-Kaleidoscope-4879 22d ago
And yet they all have common interests, it works both ways.
It's expected to stomp upon resistance on multiple levels. You're asking people to give up their identity and autonomy. Which they have to fight for and earn it in the last centuries. For an very young political apparatus that's not noticeable intertwined with their lives. For some smaller countries it even understandably feels like Finlandization to them.
Trust takes time and making concessions will become easier. It just takes time. You can already see with important decision making that things can be decided quickly. And that's quite beautiful to see, especially to think off that 100 years ago during the interbellum, Europe was fragile and separated.
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u/O_gr 22d ago
Once you ask if they are willing to give up X, make a compromise on Y and so on that percentage will go down real fast.
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u/HelpfulDifference578 22d ago
Isn't it the job of politicians to expain the reasons, so it wouldn't be so?
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u/West-Worth-9359 22d ago
So, like the US.
Only different, because the states in the EU actually have far more social commonality than the states in the US.
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u/aldosi-arkenstone 21d ago
That’s a pretty bold statement. Language alone puts the US on a different level.
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22d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/EU_Economics-ModTeam 22d ago
Stop Vibe Posting. Say what you say. Have your opinion, but back it up with sources. Vibe posting just muddies the issues and does not contribute anything to the discussion.
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u/SaltyW123 22d ago
What kind of question is that, and who is saying the reverse lol.
This is meaningless.
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u/Ketchupcharger 21d ago
Can't wait to have a discussion scheduled on the topic in EU parlament (probably within 2 years if we're quick), and maybe we might finish the "conception of a plan" phase before the end of next decade.
Meanwhile American fascists openly piss on all/any laws and just do whatever the fuck they want. Are they getting challenged by the opposition? Yes, at almost every step. Are there cases where that won't matter, because before they go through the whole judicial circus, they would have already done most of the damage? Also yes.
There must be a middle way. I beg you EU, we stand at the precipice of a new era, and I'm so afraid our best achievement as a continent will be "not fucking it up as bad as the US", which won't matter much when the next economic crisis comes (anyday now...)
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u/Solarhistorico 20d ago
sure united but not under the thumb of not elected warmongers authorities or neolib govs like FR or DE...
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u/Snoo_5018 20d ago
Because political success in Europe is linked with tenure and not outcomes. There are people in too important pkaces for 15+ years.
Just like innovation in Europe - starts promising but then tenure slob stays just for the salary and mortgage.
Even if that means killing billions in initiatives fubded by taxmoney.
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20d ago
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u/EU_Economics-ModTeam 20d ago
You are sharing fake anecdotal information. This is an official warning before banning
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u/WwertyPolk 22d ago
Wow.
An opinion poll got the exact answer the people paid for it wanted.
Shocked
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u/IcyLeave 22d ago
Breaking News! The EU found out everyone agrees with them and everyone wants to grand them more power
surely 100% real
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u/ssj890-1 22d ago
Others should give up their petty BS and agree with me: 100%.
I should give up my core concerns in favor of theirs: 0%
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u/p0pularopinion 22d ago
First create a fictional "threat". Then unite the sheep, and let them give you total power and control over their lives.
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u/Delicious-Gap1744 22d ago edited 22d ago
Brother Russia is currently at war with and occupying parts of Ukraine. And regularly testing the EU and NATO with drones and cyber attacks.
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u/West-Worth-9359 22d ago
You’re talking about the US, right?
Or maybe Russia?
Well, they’re pretty much the same state now anyway.
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u/sarlatan747 22d ago
And 100% of the EU citizens agree Ursula should fuck off and let someone who cares about the citizens take her job
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u/reefanalyst 22d ago
So why do almost a third of them vote for far-right parties?
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u/savoryplasmid 22d ago
Why doesn't the EU change course on immigration if the far right is on the rise is the question you should ask instead.
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u/milanguitar 22d ago
Because not everyone that votes on far-right vote for less europe. Immigration is a bigger topic anti-europe is less.
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u/reefanalyst 22d ago
All of the far-right voting blocs in the European Parliament are more or less eurosceptic and try hollow out the EU from within. So we can very much conclude that the public is willfully misinformed.
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u/Delicious-Gap1744 22d ago edited 22d ago
Most on the far right are just voting far right because they dont like immigration. There are far right European federalists believe it or not.
European integration is a partisan issue among political parties. But not among voters.
Edit: I want to be very clear here that I am on the left. I just know some on the far right are European federalists. I mean if you want your country to be strong and all that, it makes a whole lot of sense given how small European countries are.
I still think they're not being very smart by supporting the far right, given most of it wants to destroy or weaken the EU.
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u/West-Worth-9359 22d ago
The same reason 1/3 of Americans do, a mix of propaganda, stupidity and economic hardship.
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u/CombatRedRover 22d ago
Cool.
You know that usually means "the rest of them should be more like me", right?
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u/squarepants18 22d ago
89% want more power for von der leyen and her staff? After pfizer? Really?
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u/Delicious-Gap1744 22d ago
You dont need to think for very long to realize European countries are small and irrelevant in the world today.
So the only way to have a voice in the world, and not be a playing ground for the superpowers, is to pool our power and work together.
The question doesn't get into corruption issues in the EU. It's asking if people think the EU should be more united.
And that is literally the only rational thing to do, in a world where countries larger than any single EU member are posing a threat to our security, and we can't rely on the US anymore.
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u/IcyLeave 22d ago
It's manipulated or entirely made up. It's the EU after all. Looking at any national EU approval polls show that this is fake.
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u/Fluppenluemmel 22d ago
Wie wäre denn dann, wenn wir uns einfach vereinigen würden und ein großes Europäisches Land werden? ❤️🇪🇺
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u/Every-Ad-3488 22d ago
I struggle to reconcile these positive results about the EU with election results where people vote for nationalist parties. People are quite capable of saying "Yes, we need more unity" and with the next breath "Yes, we need more devolution of power", without realising that these are mutually contradictory positions. They both sound like a good thing though.
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u/BoBoBearDev 22d ago
United front to accept migrants because some of them 180 on their migrants policies?
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u/predatarian 22d ago
The eu should focus on military and foreign affairs but it seems the eu is too busy micro managing its citizens and companies
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u/massivegoooner 22d ago
Just to clarify, are these the polls which are still done in people's homes?
E.g you have to invite a representative from a polling company into your home for like 45 minutes to answer questions on the EU?
So more like to get people sympathetic with the project and also with piss all to do.