Top priority areas the EU should focus on in the next five years, according to EU citizens

When asked what areas the EU should take measures in in the medium term (i.e. in the next five years), over one third of the EU citizens chose ‘security and defence’ (34%), followed by ‘climate and environment’ (30%) and ‘health’ (26%).

Priorities per country

Priority areas vary between EU Member States. ‘Security and defence’ is mentioned by an absolute majority of respondents in Lithuania (53%) and Finland (50%), and almost half of respondents in Poland (49%), Latvia (45%) and Estonia (45%). Notably, more than half of respondents in Denmark regard ‘security and defence’ as an important area (51%); however, this item comes only in second place in this country, after ‘climate and the environment’ (60%). Comparatively, ‘security and defence’ is not considered a main priority by respondents in Spain (14%) and Ireland (20%); only one in five or less think it is a priority.

‘Climate and the environment’ is considered the first topic the EU should prioritise in the medium term in several countries, led by Sweden (62%), Denmark (60%) and the Netherlands (54%). However, it is less likely to be considered a priority in other countries such as Latvia (10%) and Estonia (11%).

‘Health’ is listed third in priority at EU level, but it comes first place in Portugal (51%), France and Ireland (both 38%), and Slovenia (33%, ex-aequo with migration). ‘Migration’ is the only other area with an absolute majority of respondents in Cyprus (61%).

Socio-demographic results

Younger respondents (aged between 15 and 24) are less likely to mention ‘security and defence’ (27%), ‘health’ (20%) and ‘migration’ (20%), and more likely to view the topic of ‘climate and the environment’ (34%) as more important. On the contrary, respondents aged 55 and over more frequently answer ‘security and defence’ (37%), ‘health’ (29%) and ‘migration’ (28%), while being less concerned about 'climate and the environment' than those aged 15-24 (28% vs 34%).

In addition, respondents that almost never or never encounter difficulties paying their bills are more likely to regard the areas of ‘security and defence’ (36%) and ‘climate and the environment’ (34%) as priorities. They are less concerned about ‘health’ (25%) and ‘employment’ (17%).

For respondents who have difficulties paying their bills, the trend is reversed. They consider ‘health’ (31%) and ‘employment’ (30%) as areas where the EU should focus its measures in the medium term. They are also less likely than others to consider ‘security and defence’ (30%) and ‘climate and the environment’ (17%) as priorities.