EU challenges and priorities: what do Europeans expect from the EU?

EU challenges and priorities: what do Europeans expect from the EU?

From the cost of living and security to democracy, energy and online safety, Flash Eurobarometer 584 explores how Europeans perceive some of the major challenges currently facing the European Union — and where they expect stronger action.

Here are some of the key findings from this study conducted by Demoscopy on behalf of the European Commission.

Key findings

1. The cost of living remains the EU’s top perceived challenge (39%), closely followed by the war in Ukraine (33%) and irregular migration (32%). Priorities vary considerably across Member States: the cost of living is cited by 70% in Ireland, while the war in Ukraine receives particularly high attention in Lithuania (54%) and Latvia (48%).
2. Europeans identify freedom of speech and expression, free and fair elections, and respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights as core elements of democracy. However, views on how the rule of law is respected are more divided: 51% are satisfied with the situation in their own country, while views are evenly split when it comes to the EU overall. National differences are substantial, with satisfaction ranging from 91% in Luxembourg to 29% in Bulgaria.
3. There is broad support for greater European economic sovereignty and cooperation. Around two thirds of Europeans support greater diversification of the EU’s trade relations and closer cooperation between Member States in trade negotiations. Support is particularly high in smaller economies such as Malta (93%) and Luxembourg (92%), while it remains more moderate in Germany and Italy (64%) and France (63%).
4. 68% of Europeans think the EU should strengthen its capacity to defend itself autonomously against external threats. Views on the security situation of respondents’ own countries are more varied across the EU, suggesting a broader consensus around strengthening collective European defence capacity than around perceptions of national-level threats.
5. Renewable energy is seen as the EU’s main lever for moving away from fossil fuels (56%). Yet when faced with higher energy prices, Europeans have mainly adapted by reducing electricity consumption (31%) and heating or cooling use (26%), rather than investing in longer-term solutions. In the digital sphere, concerns are also widespread: 71% are concerned about cyberbullying and harassment affecting children, 70% about online grooming and sexual exploitation, while exposure to unreliable and misleading information remains widespread.

Taken together, the findings show that Europeans’ priorities combine immediate concerns with expectations for longer-term European action. Cost-of-living pressures remain highly visible, while respondents also express support for strengthening the EU’s capacity in areas such as defence, trade cooperation and the energy transition.

The results also point to democratic and digital resilience as important areas of concern. Europeans strongly value fundamental democratic principles while expressing more mixed views about how they are upheld in practice. At the same time, widespread concerns about online risks — particularly those affecting children — point to expectations for stronger action in the digital sphere.