Eurobarometer 54.1: Building Europe and the European Union, The European Parliament, Public Safety, and Defense Policy, November- December 2000 (ICPSR 3209)

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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, 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. The survey also elicited respondents' opinions about the European Parliament and other EU institutions. Those queried were asked how many European Parliament elections they voted in and if they were going to vote in the next one, how much impact the European Parliament had on their everyday lives, whether the European Parliament protected their interests, and which areas it should concentrate on in order to defend respondents' interests. Another set of questions, which focused on public safety, asked whether respondents felt safe in their neighborhoods, whether over the last year they had been attacked or seriously threatened and if so whether they reported it to the police, how often they personally encountered drug-related problems in their neighborhoods, whether somebody had ever broken into or tried to break into their homes, and if so, whether they subsequently took any protective measures. The survey also queried respondents about defense policy issues. Respondents were asked about the role of a European army, whether the EU should have a common defense and security policy, who should make decisions concerning defense in Europe, how this decision should be made within the EU, whether the European army should replace national armies, and what they thought about the EU swift intervention force of 60,000 men. Another focus of the survey was EU enlargement. Respondents were asked about measures that should be taken by the EU before enlargement, potential effects of this process, whether they were for or against enlargement, fears connected with building the EU, what countries they would be in favor of or against becoming new members, what criteria were important in deciding whether a country should join the EU, and whether after enlargement the EU decisions should be made unanimously or by majority. Additional questions queried respondents about the euro, the EU's budget spending, priorities for the EU initiatives, areas in which decisions should be made by national governments and jointly with the EU, a common foreign policy toward countries outside the EU, national versus pan-European pride, satisfaction with democracy, expectations for 2001, and level of trust in different institutions. Respondents were also asked how often they watched news on TV, read news in daily papers, and listened to the news on the radio. They also expressed their opinions on the amount and quality of coverage given to the EU on TV, in newspapers, and on the radio. Standard demographic information collected includes age, gender, occupation, nationality, marital status, political orientation, vote intention, age at completion of education, number of people in household, number of children under 15 in household, household income, size of locality, region of residence, and language of interview (for select countries).

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