Will public support for Ukraine continue? How has it evolved over the last 21 months?
These are the questions posed by many analysts as the war in Ukraine continues.
In the following graphs, we show how ongoing debates on energy security, energy-saving measures, and efforts to support Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression have influenced opinions across Europe from March 2022 to December 2023.
We regularly update this data on a quarterly basis to provide insights into the latest trends in EU sentiments toward Ukraine. However, in this edition, we focus on examining how this data has evolved over the 21-month period mentioned.
These questions can be categorized into three key areas of concern:
- The EU’s role on the global stage and its ability to reinforce that role
- The policies designed to support Ukraine in its war effort, including aspects such as weapons delivery, refugee acceptance, energy independence, economic and financial sanctions, EU enlargement and the development of a common European defence policy
- The need for support in rebuilding Ukraine and an estimation on Ukraine’s mid-term future
Conclusions
The eupinions data presented here aims to explore how European solidarity with Ukraine has been influenced by the ongoing war and its associated risks and consequences.
In brief, we observe the following trends:
General support for Ukraine remains relatively stable, with some challenges evident in three areas: weapons delivery, energy independence and acceptance of Ukrainian refugees. While the observed shifts in opinions are not dramatic, they are noteworthy and growing.
In terms of EU enlargement, Poland and Germany warrant special attention. Poland has witnessed a significant decline in support for Ukraine’s EU membership, experiencing a 20-percentage-point drop over a 21-month period. Meanwhile, Germany exhibits the lowest level of support for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, standing at 48%.
In terms of support for Ukrainian refugees, Poland has also witnessed a 23-percentage-point drop.
This recent decline in support may be seen as an early sign of fatigue due to the prolonged duration of the war and the lack of visible progress in recent months. Furthermore, a series of strikes and protests by European farmers has underscored concerns about resource scarcity and potential political ramifications stemming from it.
Moreover, a considerable share of Europeans are either highly sceptical (59%) or uncertain (20%) about the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia. Generally, Europeans exhibit caution regarding the economic aspects of aid to Ukraine. While 55% agree that the EU should support reconstruction efforts, simultaneously, 59% believe that the reconstruction of Ukraine will impose a burden.
As we enter the election season, it would be prudent for national governments and EU leadership to clearly communicate the importance of support for Ukraine while articulating their policy objectives and the concessions inherent in these policies. This is particularly crucial, considering the fact that political entrepreneurs throughout the EU may seek to exploit doubts and uncertainty for their own political gain.
About eupinions
eupinions is an independent platform for European public opinion. We collect and analyse data on European public opinion and comment on what Europeans think about current political issues and megatrends.
Every quarter, we collect samples from each EU member state in 22 languages. Our data is representative with regard to age, gender, education and country/region.
eupinions is a Bertelsmann Stiftung project. The data is collected by Latana.
Visit www.eupinions.eu for further information!
Methodology note
The samples analysed in this report were drawn by Latana in March (with a size of n=13,208), June (n=13,220), September (n=13,204) and December 2022 (n=13,300) as well as in March (n=13,270), June (n=13,322), September (n=13,287) and December 2023 (n=13,299) across all 27 EU member states. Our samples take into account current population distributions with regard to age (16-70 years), gender and region/country. In order to obtain census representative results, the data were weighted using the most recent Eurostat statistics.
Any references to differences between countries in the report pertain only to the seven countries with sufficiently large sample sizes: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
Given the sample size and design-effect considerations, the margin of error is 1% for March and September 2022, as well as June 2023, and 0.9% for June and December 2022, as well as March, September and December 2023, all at a confidence level of 95%.