The rising cost of living is the biggest concern for most Europeans

According to a new survey by Eurobarometer, the cost of living crisis is now the biggest concern for most Europeans, with 93% of respondents saying it is the most pressing issue for them. 

The survey talks about a “polycrisis mood” across the continent, with living costs, inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, social exclusion, the potential spread of the war in Ukraine, and climate change all being some of the leading worries for EU citizens. 

Additionally, nearly half of the Europeans surveyed said that their standard of living had already declined, with 45% of respondents saying they were having financial difficulties. 

Only 14% said they didn’t anticipate any change in their financial situation in the coming year; 46% said their standard of living had already declined in some way and 39% said they expected to see it decrease at some point in the next year. 

The country with the biggest fall in living standards was Cyprus, with 70% of respondents saying they had already been affected. This was followed by Greece at 66%, Malta at 65%, France at 62%, and Portugal at 57%. 

Only 21% of people in Greece said they were satisfied with their current income, compared with 84% of people in Finland, 86% in Denmark, and 87% in Sweden. 

Overall, 93% of people said the cost of living crisis, including food and energy prices, was the issue that was causing them the most anxiety. This was followed by poverty and social exclusion at 82%, climate change at 81%, and the war in Ukraine at 81%. 

Almost three-quarters said they were worried about the risk of a nuclear incident. However, approval for the EU’s response to the war in Ukraine is still high at 74%, compared with 23% of people who said they disagree with the response. 

The percentage of Europeans with a positive view of the EU fell from 52% to 47%, with 56% of citizens saying they were not satisfied with the measures taken to deal with the cost of living crisis by the European Union.