THIS YEAR, WE ALSO EXAMINED THE PERCEPTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND SOME EUROPEAN LEADERS BY A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS. THOUGH THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE EUROPEAN POPULATION CAN BE CONSIDERED PRO-EUROPEAN, THEY ARE STRONGLY CRITICAL OF BRUSSELS’ ACTS. A LARGE MAJORITY ALSO VIEW EU MIGRATION POLICY, COUNTER TERRORISM ACTIVITIES AND BORDER MANAGEMENT AS WEAK. IN THE LIGHT OF THIS, IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, ANGELA MERKEL’S PERCEPTION IS HIGHLY DIVISIVE, AND A RELATIVE MAJORITY IN EUROPE HAS AN UNFAVORABLE OPINION OF EMMANUEL MACRON. EUROPEANS ALSO HAVE A CLEAR VIEW ON INTEGRATION: 53% OF RESPONDENTS WOULD STRENGTHEN NATIONAL COMPETENCE OVER THE EU INSTITUTIONS. OUT OF THE 35 COUNTRIES, ONLY 9 STATES ARE FOR STRONGER EUROPEAN INTEGRATION. THIS GOES IN HAND WITH THE FACT THAT THREE OUT OF FOUR RESPONDENTS CONSIDER THEMSELVES BELONGING TO THEIR OWN COUNTRY RATHER THAN EUROPE.