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The European Commission published Spring 2012 Standard Eurobarometer which shows that Europeans broadly support the initiatives for growth, stability and jobs put forward by the EU. Among the results, 40% of European take the view that the EU is heading in the right direction to emerge from the crisis and face new global challenges. However, more than 8 out of 10 Europeans think EU Member States should work more closely together as a result of the crisis and more than half believe the EU will emerge stronger in the long term. The Autumn 2011 Standard Eurobarometer showed that Europeans still see the EU as the most effective actor against the crisis.

The latest poll also shows Europeans say the headline targets agreed by the EU on the Europe 2020 strategy – such as ensuring three quarters of working age people have jobs – are at the right level of ambition. People’s views on the Europe 2020 strategy are encouraging, particularly in relation to the importance of the initiatives and the level of ambition. In addition, while over three quarters of people in Sweden, Luxembourg and Germany say the economic situation is good, less than 5% share this view in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece. Overall, in the last 6 months, the views on the current situation of the national economy have remained stable, with positive feedback (down by 1 to 27%) and negative feedback (unchanged at 71%).

A total of 32,728 people were interviewed across the 27 EU Member States and in the candidate countries for the Spring 2012 Standard Eurobarometer. As in previous surveys, responses about the situation of national economies differ widely between Member States. Although there are significant variations between countries, there are signs that Europeans are becoming less pessimistic, with more people saying that the worst of the crisis is behind us. 30% of Europeans think that the crisis’ impact on the job market has already reached its peak (a rise of 7 points since the previous survey in autumn 2011).