Challenges and values - conference on the results of the Project Europe Research in 2022

Europe cannot exist without European citizens, and a European internal policy must emerge that not only represents the European institutions but also the European people, as Tibor Navracsics,  Minister for Regional Development, stressed in his opening speech. He added that the EU institutions also need to change concepts. According to the minister, the UK's withdrawal from the EU was a wake-up call that clearly signalled the need for EU institutions, together with citizens, to rethink the future of Europe.

The migration and climate crisis, the war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis have created tensions within the cooperation, which are present not only in the cooperation between the EU and the Member States, but also in the lives of European citizens.

Today, European citizens look to the future with uncertainty, with existential fear. The generations that are now growing up will be the first generations in post-World War II Europe to face more modest financial and progress opportunities, said Tibor Navracsics.

“So Europe is going through tough times, but this is not against the European Union, it's in favour of it.” We need to come together in trouble, and the lesson of the last seventy years of the union is that it can overcome all obstacles and crises if the EU institutions do not look for what separates them, but what unites them," the minister said.

After that, Áron Hidvégi, Vice President of the Századvég Foundation, presented the main results of the Project Europe Research. He explained that one of the aims of the research was to map whether the European political elite faithfully represents the interests of citizens and to paint a true picture of European public opinion free from any political influence. He said this research explores all topics that are relevant and of concern to people. The deputy chairman presented with data what people think about sanctions, the management of the economic crisis, the energy situation, and the war in the current situation.

"The novum in this research is that it also brings to the surface differences of opinion and the different will of the electorate. This provides a very good basis for decision-makers in a given country, because it highlights problems that need to be talked about. On the issue of sanctions, for example, we can see how different the interests, the positions of the people and governments are. Each country has different geographical, social and geopolitical conditions, and that is why a single package of sanctions cannot be imposed on them, because it may put them at a disadvantage within the Europen Union that weakens the unity of the entire EU", Áron Hidvégi summarized the importance of research.

He also said that the Project Europe Research revealed the critical points, not only in relation to the war conflict, but also to the gender issue and the migration crisis. However, the most surprising result of the research is that in terms of arms deliveries, there is a huge difference between the reactions given by the government of a given country and what is expected by the public in that country.  

"In addition, of course, we can also shed light on how the fears of certain factors are built into our daily lives, and how painful and palpable the change in the area of energy is, and how it is integrated in our everyday life. How people feel the price increase and insecurity. Despite this, the European political elites make decisions that do not prevent it but even make it worse,” said the deputy chairman.

After Áron Hidvégi, dr. Péter Pillók, Director of Századvég Foundation Social Science Research Group gave his presentation. In his illustrative presentation, he talked about the opposition of liberal and conservative worldviews in 21^st century Europe. He presented how liberals and conservatives think about different social issues, revealed which issues are most divergent between liberal and conservative opinions, and which are the ones where there is essentially a consensus between the metaphorical laagers.

Péter Pillók emphasized that the results of the research show that the issues of security, work, and environmental protection are important for both conservatives and liberals. And although some differences can be perceived, there is also a fundamental consensus on freedom of speech, the family, equal opportunities, the protection of the fetus, the involvement of international organizations, the promotion of national culture, and individual freedom. However, there are marked differences in nine statements. While liberals consider it important to help refugees, the diversity of cultures, the support of gender equality and sexual minorites, for conservatives it is important to develop the army, regulate immigration, protect traditions, have strict laws, and preserve Christian culture.

André Palóc, senior analyst at Századvég Foundation, then spoke about the development of the economic situation in Europe and its challenges in the light of the results of the research. He said that the year 2022 was defined by the Russian-Ukrainian war, but at the moment the European population is primarily concerned about economic problems and not the security risks of the war. The outbreak of the war, the energy crisis and the resulting increase in production costs, as well as the difficulties in supply chains, have all placed a heavy burden on the European economy, which could not even fully recover from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. An important question is how individual European countries can handle this situation and how the European Union will get out of the economic crisis caused by the war.

The presentations were closed by Dr. Olivér Hortay, Manager, Energy and Climate Policy Division of Századvég Konjunktúrakutató Zrt., who talked about the transformations in Europe caused by the energy crisis. In his presentation, he covered topics such as energy poverty, security of supply fears, and sanctions policy.

He said that the energy crisis part of the Project Europe Research had two important questions: one related to the fear of power outages and the other to excessive energy prices. For both questions, the number of worried respondents has almost doubled since 2016, especially since the energy crisis.

In connection with energy poverty, Olivér Hortay stressed that the most important thing is to provide energy to the widest possible range of society without problems, i.e., that people do not have difficulties with heating or paying bills. The results of the research clearly show that, in terms of the European average, the rates in Hungary are better than the average, which can be explained by the officially fixed prices.

In relation to the sanctions imposed, data show that they are harming both Russia and the EU economy. These results suggest that it would definitely be worthwhile to change the EU's sanctions policy, the head of division pointed out.