EU “must show citizens that it can both protect and improve their daily lives” – Greeks not convinced

EU Commission headquarters in Brussels - The Times

eKathimerini — Greeks appear evenly divided in their views of the European Union, according to a recent survey of European attitudes by the Eurobarometer.

More specifically, 34 percent of those polled said that belonging to the EU is a good thing against 32 percent who said the opposite. Thirty-three percent said EU membership is neither good nor bad.

The survey, commissioned by the European Parliament and published on Thursday, suggests that Greek public opinion differs significantly from the EU average, which saw 57 percent of citizens saying belonging to the EU is a good thing, as opposed to 14 percent who expressed the opposite opinion.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said the findings of the survey into Europeans’ attitudes toward the European Union are, “for the first time since the start of the crisis in 2007, very encouraging.”

“They show that European citizens expect the Union to respond with a single voice to their very acute fears about recent international upheavals that have made the world more uncertain and dangerous,” he said, adding that it is up to political leaders to show citizens who believe in the EU that they are right.

To this end, he said, “we must persuade them, by our daily work and our decisions, that the Union can both protect and improve their daily lives.

And there is nothing to stop that happening but it is probably just another of the  European values that obviously does apply to Greece.