Eurobarometer 55.0: European Union Enlargement, the Euro, and Dialogue on Europe, March-April 2001 (ICPSR 3340)

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This round of Eurobarometer surveys, which diverged from the standard topics, focused on respondents' views regarding the enlargement of the European Union, public discussions on the future of Europe (Dialogue on Europe), and the single European currency, the euro. Given a list of 21 European countries that were not European Union (EU) members plus Morocco, respondents were asked which countries they had heard of, which they had visited or planned to visit, which they had ties to, which they thought had been accepted as candidates to join the European Union, which should be the first to join, which should not join, and which countries they wanted to know more about in terms of various topical areas. Those polled were asked a number of questions about the planned EU enlargement, such as how many countries should be allowed to join, which member countries would benefit most from enlargement, whether enlargement would benefit respondents' personal lives, how they rated the development of the European Union, their level of satisfaction with the speed of enlargement, and which criteria should govern whether applicants were admitted to the EU. Opinions were elicited on a number of possible effects of enlargement, some possible negative effects of participation in the EU in general, whether enlargement would cause an increase in immigration from Eastern and Central Europe, and whether respondents viewed increased immigration as positive or negative. Further questions focused on the euro. Respondents were asked how well informed they felt about the euro, what their sources of information were, which countries had decided to adopt the euro as their national currency, when coins and notes in euros would be introduced in their countries, when it would be possible to pay in euros by check or card, and when it would no longer be possible to pay in the respondents' national currencies. Those surveyed were also asked to give their views on the possible effects of the introduction of the euro, how smoothly the transition from national currencies to the euro would be, when they would start paying in euros, and whether the introduction of the euro would have generally positive or negative consequences. A final set of items focused on the Dialogue on Europe, a series of public discussions and debates instituted to encourage citizens to express their views on the future of Europe. Respondents stated whether they would find participation in this program interesting, which topics should be included, whether they would be interested in actually participating in the discussions, and, if so, which day and time would be most convenient. They were also asked what would motivate them to participate in the public discussions, their preferred mode of participation, who should initiate the discussions, their preferred sources of information about European issues, and their level of interest in the contents of their national constitution and the treaties of the EU. Background information on respondents includes political preference, marital/relationship status, education level, gender, age, occupation, area of residence, age at completion of education, subjective size of community, nationality, and income.

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