A new Eurobarometer survey shows that an overwhelming majority of EU citizens support strong action at EU and national level and increased social spending.
According to the survey, 78% think the government should take the following steps: Measures to narrow the gap in income levelswith the support of EU institutions (73%).
Additionally, 78% of Europeans believe that: Overall public spending on key social policies should increase. They believe that, in order of importance, governments should spend more on health care, long-term care, education, pensions, housing, income support, family policy, and unemployment assistance.
When asked how this increase in social policy spending should be financed, around half of Europeans said support tax increase:
- 21% think the additional costs should be borne by wealthy families
- 20% say contributions should be proportional to household income
- 10% said they would split costs equally between households
- 15% of respondents think the funds should come from other expenses
- 12% think funding should come from the budget deficit.
Support for strong social policies and more social spending reflects less than half of Europeans believing that society is fair and equal. 47% of respondents believe they have equal opportunity to advance compared to everyone else. Also, Fewer than four in ten (38%) believe that most things that happen in their lives are fair..
These equity perceptions decreased by 10 and 14 percentage points, respectively, compared to the 2017 survey, and social equity perceptions among young people aged 15-24 decreased significantly (compared to 2017). (minus 16 percentage points).
Furthermore, more than 81% of Europeans believe that income differences are too large in their country. However, despite the COVID-19 crisis, concerns about income inequality decreased slightly compared to 2017 (-4 percentage points). This decline was greatest among older people and people living in rural areas.
Getting a good education (94%) and working hard (90%) are considered important or essential to getting ahead in the company. Around two-thirds of respondents also believe that coming from a wealthy family is essential (12%) or important (53%) to get ahead in the company.
The Eurobarometer also shows a gradual increase in educational attainment over the three generations. Approximately 6 in 10 respondents have a higher level of education than their mothers (64%) and fathers (61%). Similarly, about 4 in 10 of the respondents’ mothers (41%) and fathers (43%) had higher levels of education than their respective parents.
The Eurobarometer study is based on 26,395 interviews conducted in May and June 2022 in 27 member countries. It provides the latest overview of Europeans’ perceptions of social equity since the last Eurobarometer in 2017.