Eurobarometer 44.2BIS Mega-Survey: Policies and Practices in Building Europe and the European Union, January-March 1996 (ICPSR 6748)

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This round of Eurobarometer surveys queried respondents on standard Eurobarometer measures, such as how satisfied they were with their present life, whether they attempted to persuade others close to them to share their views on subjects they held strong opinions about, whether they discussed political matters, what their country's goals should be for the next ten years, and how they viewed the need for societal change. Additional questions focused on the respondents' knowledge of and opinions on the European Union (EU), including how well-informed they felt about the EU, what sources of information about the EU they used, whether their country had benefited from being an EU member, and the extent of their personal interest in EU matters. Another major focus of the surveys was expectations and fears regarding the EU. Respondents were asked whether they feared economic crisis, loss of power for smaller member states, increased crime, more foreign workers, language acculturation, richer member countries paying for less rich countries, slower decisions due to bureaucracy, disappearance of small and midsized farms, businesses, and fisheries, loss of social benefits, transfer of jobs, massive imports, more taxes, decisions being imposed by the bigger member countries, and loss of national identity. Respondents were also asked to evaluate the likelihood of such situations occurring. Expectations of the EU were assessed through questions concerning whether areas such as defense, employment, culture, environment, consumerism, agriculture and fishing, immigration, border control, transportation, importation, social justice, equality, law, crime, and research should be considered key priorities for the EU. Opinions were sought on the necessity of various policies to further EU progress, which groups of people (such as students, retirees, the unemployed, large companies, farmers) were in favor of the EU, and which countries and groups benefited most from the EU. Respondents also provided information as to which areas of policy they believed should be decided by the EU and which decided by their national governments. With respect to further progress in building Europe, respondents not only described their reactions to this concept but also indicated whether they thought it was necessary to implement a single internal market, a common agricultural policy, a European social policy, a European environment policy, one European foreign policy, one army, a European currency, one tax system, an elected European government, and European citizenship in addition to national citizenship. Demographic and other background information was elicited on the number of people residing in the home, household income, and region of residence, as well as the respondent's age, sex, marital status, occupation, and left-right political self-placement.

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