Press Briefing: enr hosts Eurobarometer presentation on European Elections 2024 

by enr | 06.Jun 2023 | Press

On June 6 – one year ahead of the next European Elections – the European Newsroom hosted the press briefing “ONE YEAR TO GO: THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS” which presented the European Parliament’s Spring Eurobarometer data at the offices of Belga New Agency.

Photo: European Union 2023 - Source : EP/Alain ROLLAND

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola spoke to journalists via video message, underlining that the latest Eurobarometer data show an “increased interest” in the next European elections as well as stating that “two out of three say that they would likely vote if the elections are held next week.” She further urged young people in particular to make use of their right to vote to ”keep our democracies alive and to shape the European Union that we will live in.”

The next European Elections will be held from June 6-9 2024. The Spring Eurobarometer collects data on public opinion towards the European Union as well as the elections next year.

Jaume Duch Guillot, European Parliament spokesperson and Director General for Communication, and Philipp Schulmeister, Director for Campaigns and former Head of Public Opinion Monitoring presented the latest data and answered questions from journalists who attended the briefing  in person and online.

Duch Guillot explained that the higher interest is likely linked to the increased visibility of the European Union in recent years due to multiple crises including the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The Eurobarometer data was collected between 2 and 26 March 2023 in all 27 member states. In total, 26.376 persons above the age of 15 were polled for their views.The survey included questions around the subjects of democracy, approval of the EU as well as actions of countries’ own governments among others. 

While the awareness of the elections is higher than in comparison to the data collected in 2019, half of the people surveyed  “see their own standard of living in decline and expect it to decrease even further,” according to the results.

Among the topics the European Parliament should prioritise, the respondents highlight the fight against poverty and social exclusion (38%), public health (33%) and climate change (31%), and support for business and new jobs (31%).

Here is a selection of pictures from the event (© European Union 2023 – Source : EP/Alain ROLLAND):

The briefing was well received with around 30 journalists attending in person. At the same time, it was streamed via Zoom as well as broadcasted on Ebs+ and several media brought camera teams and interviewed the speakers after the briefing. You can rewatch the briefing here.

Based on the interview, the enr produced a joint Key Story which you can read here. Follow the European Newsroom on social media and check out the wires from the respective outlets online if you are interested in learning about each country’s specific take on the subject.

Watch here the Eurobarometer presentation

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