The results of a European Parliament latest opinion poll show that Europeans are increasingly interested in European affairs, while the economic crisis remains a key concern, as it has done since 2008.

A recently-published Eurobarometer survey reveals that Europeans are increasingly interested in European affairs, and a majority want to be informed on what happens at EU level. According to the European Parliament, the European institution which published the poll's results, this may be a consequence of the recent Europeanisation of national political debates. An Eurobarometer poll published in September 2012 showed that public opinion about the EU had improved markedly.

The European Parliament's survey also shows that an absolute majority of respondents saw tackling poverty and social exclusion as the first priority to be pursued by Parliament (53%, +3 compared to 2011). Coordination of economic policies ranked second with 35% (-2), followed by improving consumer and public health protection with 30% (-1). Asked how they perceive Parliament's role, 75% of respondents said they thought it important, with 54% wanting it to play a bigger one in the near future.

Between November 2011 and November 2012, the share of respondents with a positive image of Parliament rose slightly (from 26 to 27%), while the share with a negative image also rose by 2 percentage points (to 28%). The share of respondents reporting that they had recently heard of the European Parliament was 64%, i.e. 22 percentage points up on autumn 2007, when the 2009 European elections were a year and half away, as the 2014 elections are now. However, this media recall rate is slightly down on that of 2011.