Project Europe

80% of European citizens believe the continent is stagnating or declining. The pessimistic attitude can best be explained by the growing cost-of-living crisis: one in three EU citizens has trouble making ends meet, and almost half would be unable to cover a large, unexpected expense. There are significant differences between Member States: while in Greece and Latvia, the relative majority struggles to make ends meet, in the Netherlands and Hungary, three quarters of the population are able to live on their income.

Between 2016 and 2025, support for nuclear energy in the EU increased from 17% to 42%, while opposition fell from 44% to 17%. The technology is one of the most positively perceived in Hungary: two-thirds of Hungarians believe that nuclear power plants should play a decisive role in the energy mix.

22% of Europeans are unable to heat their homes properly, and 26% have been unable to pay their utility bills in the past year due to lack of money. Thanks to the overhead cost reduction, Hungary has the lowest figures for both indicators among EU Member States. But the Brussels plan to ban Russian energy would jeopardise the programme, with serious social consequences.

While the European political elite is obsessed with war and armament, in 2025, more European citizens oppose arms deliveries to Ukraine (49%) than support them (44%), and 67% of EU respondents reject sending military troops to support Ukraine, according to the latest results of the Századvég Project Europe survey.

Brussels has called on EU Member States to phase out subsidies on utility rates immediately, even though their abolition would have serious social consequences. The energy crisis is not over, and countries that do not protect their populations from market prices are facing severe energy poverty, according to research by Századvég Europe Project.

6 out of 10 EU citizens do not agree with the new migration pact, which allows illegal migrants to be resettled in the EU Member States without the say of Member States, according to Századvég’s latest Project Europe survey.

The European Parliament and Council have adopted a Commission proposal to phase out fossil fuel boilers for heating buildings in the EU by 2040. The majority of EU citizens disagree with the decision, according to research by Századvég.

Most European citizens disagree with Brussels’ efforts to relax environmental and import regulations on Ukrainian produce, Századvég’s Project Europe research shows.

While 59% of EU citizens would fight for their country on its own soil, just over a quarter (27%) would take up arms outside its borders. In fact, when it comes to the involvement of EU soldiers in Ukraine, there is overwhelming rejection (69%) according to the latest results of Századvég’s Project Europe research.

Results from Századvég’s Project Europe survey show that almost two thirds of EU citizens are concerned that, more than a year and a half on, there is still no meaningful result from investigations into the historic scale of attacks on the EU’s critical infrastructure.

The latest Europe Project survey by Századvég revealed that a majority of European citizens do not agree with a ban on motor vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035.

No European country has majority support for sending troops to Ukraine, according to the Századvég Europe Project research. The analysis, based on the survey, explored European public opinion on the issue of military engagement in Ukraine, following several statements by French President Emmanuel Macron suggesting the need for military intervention by European countries in the war in Ukraine.

Brussels is asking Member States for EUR 50 billion in additional funding for Ukraine. The proposal would not only impose a significant financial burden on the entire population of the EU but would also allow the armed conflict to drag on. However, EU citizens believe that the parties should instead be urged to negotiate peace and the war should end immediately.

As a result of the price rises caused by the energy crisis, the proportion of energy-poor households across Europe has increased significantly, with 22% of the EU population facing difficulties in heating. Hungarian families are the least affected by this problem thanks to the overhead cost reduction policy.

The majority of European citizens believe that the punitive measures benefit America and China, while they harm Ukraine, Russia and the EU. Századvég’s research reveals that almost three times as many respondents think that sanctions are primarily damaging to the European Union as those who see Russia as the primary loser.

Based on the results of the Project Europe Research conducted by Századvég, in all EU Member States, there are more people who believe that the sanctions are primarily harmful to the EU economy than those who believe that they are harmful to Russia. As a result of the punitive measures, the prospects are deteriorating: Almost three-quarters of Europeans think it is likely that their country will plunge into recession next year, and a quarter say it is already in crisis.

The European Union's attitude to the Russian-Ukrainian war is a key priority area of the Community's foreign policy. The intensity of the fighting is constantly increasing and, in addition to the warring parties, the burdens on Europe placed by the sanctions are also increasing. Despite this, the intention of bringing those affected to the negotiating table is not pronounced in Brussels’ efforts. However, based on the results of the research conducted by Századvég, Europeans would expect their leaders to work towards a peace agreement as soon as possible and a quick end to the war.

In the debate on sanctions affecting energy supplies, there are two opposing views in Europe. One is that Russian energy imports should be banned as soon as possible, forcing EU Member States to look for other sellers, even at the cost of damaging the security of supply. The representatives of the other point of views – instead of banning Russian supplies – would rather force Russia to compete by supporting the entry of new suppliers into the market, thus reducing the continent’s dependence. In the framework of the Project Europe Research, Századvég examined which position European citizens support.