Eurobarometer, the institute that conducts opinion polls on behalf of the Commission at the continental level, has published the results of an analysis on a sample of the population of the Twenty-Five, conducted between 17 May and 1st June, regarding citizens’ willingness to vote in the European elections for the renewal of the Parliament in Strasbourg, with some further questions added to test their knowledge of issues of Community interest. The results suggest that Europeans are little inclined to vote and not always informed about European issues. “49% of those interviewed confirm their firm intention to vote”, explain the Eurobarometer experts, while in the last election, in 1999, the corresponding percentage was 49.8%. In a previous poll concluded on 16 May, the percentage was only 45%. It goes without saying that sharp variations are registered between one country and another. Some comfort can be drawn from another reply to the questionnaire: in the previous poll conducted four weeks prior to the elections (due to be held between 10 and 13 June, depending on State), only 37% of those having the right to vote indicated exactly the date of the elections; today the corresponding figure is 49%. On the other hand, on the question of the number of member states after EU enlargement, 40% of the sample gave a correct answer in mid-May, whereas now the percentage has dropped to 32%, a sign that information and attention on this issue have rapidly declined. As for the reasons adopted for not voting, ” 59% of the electors consider that in any case it won’t change anything”. In commenting on the results of the poll, Eurobarometer diagnoses “a kind of fatalism” widespread among the electorate of the 25. It is noted, on the other hand, that the approaching election deadline and the campaigns being run to raise awareness among citizens are producing some positive results, especially in those countries in which the European vote is being coupled with national or local elections.
