Eurobarometer: citizens want strong environment policy

A new Eurobarometer survey has confirmed that EU citizens give priority to protecting the environment over economic competitiveness.

Nine out of ten Europeans say that decision-makers should pay as much attention to environmental considerations as to economic and social factors when taking decisions. This is the main message of a new Eurobarometer for which interviews were organised in the second half of 2004.

Other findings of this survey:

• people are most concerned about water pollution, man-made disasters (oil spills etc.) and climate change;
• green NGOs are trusted most (42%), but their rating has gone down considerably (-6%) since the last poll in 2002; the public’s trust in the media (TV and newspapers) on environmental issues has grown markedly; people do not trust companies on environmental issues at all (2%);
• the most effective level for environmental decisions is seen to be the EU.

The survey confirms a remarkable finding from the February 2005 Eurobarometer on the Lisbon agenda: 63% of Europeans think that protecting the environment should take priority over economic competitiveness (against 24% who disagree).

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