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Eurobarometer 74 - Economic governance in the European Union
This report presents the first results of the Standard Eurobarometer wave 74 which was carried out from mid-November to early December 20101; it was fielded in 32 countries or territories: the 27 European Union Member States, four candidate countries2 (Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Iceland), and the Turkish Cypriot Community in the part of the country that is not controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. The report presents, under the title "Economic governance in the European Union",
firstly, a selection of questions relating to the present financial and economic crisis, governance measures to exit the crisis, measures to improve governance of the financial markets and the perceived role of the carious global actors. Then, in a second part, the report focuses on the Europe 2020 strategy, with a view to take up with economic growth on a mid-term perspective. The report is published at the
occasion of a major conference organised by the European Commission3 on economic governance in the European Union.
The survey reveals that there is a significant increase in the number of people who feel that the impact of the economic crisis on the job market has already reached its peak. This view is shared by a majority in 13 countries out of 27. This evolution is consistent with the latest official statistics.
In November 2010, when this survey was carried out, the first signs of economic recovery were visible: EU27 growth was slightly higher than that recorded in the previous quarter (+0.4 points) and was up as much as +2.1 points4 on a year-onyear basis. At the same time, although unemployment has increased slightly in the European Union5 (+0.2 points since October 2009), it has fallen significantly in some countries, in particular in Germany, Finland, Sweden and Malta, by -0.5 points or more since October 2009.
However, at a time when some countries are starting to emerge from the economic crisis, others have experienced difficulties, in particular Ireland which faced a serious financial crisis at the time of the survey fieldwork. On 21 November, the Irish government asked the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, through the European Financial Stability Facility, for support. The various Member States thus find themselves in contrasting economic situations; in some countries there are already signs of an economic recovery while in other Member States it seems the worst is yet to come.Despite these differences, most countries agree that the European Union should play a major role in resolving the crisis and reforming the global financial system.