"More than three-quarters of Europeans (77%) are in favour of ‘a common defence and security policy among EU Member States’… Although it [support] has slightly decreased in the current survey from winter 2020- 2021 by one percentage point, support for this policy remains at a high level," the report said.
At the same time, 17% of respondents voted against this policy, a mere one percentage point increase since spring 2021.
Cyprus (95%), Lithuania (89%) and Estonia (87%) demonstrate the highest rates of support, with Sweden (58%) and Austria (61%) at the other end of the scale.
As many as 13 member states have demonstrated significant growth in public approval of the policy, with Ireland (75%, +9), Cyprus (95%, +5) and Croatia (79%, +5) at the top of the list. However, support declined in 13 EU countries, the most prominent examples being Slovakia (73%, -7), France (68%, -6) and Belgium (86%, -5).
The Standard Eurobarometer survey of winter 2021-2022 was carried out between 18 January and 14 February 2022, with samples of about 1,000 interviews.