Poll: Majority of Greeks want bigger role for EU Parliament

Seventy-nine pct of Greek citizens want a greater future role for the European Parliament, while 72 percent believe that the EU Recovery Plan will allow the Greek economy to recover faster from the negative effects of the pandemic, according to the latest European Parliament (Eurobarometer) survey on Europe released on Friday.

Specifically, eight out of 10 Greeks said they want the European Parliament to play a more important role, with 65 percent saying that solidarity between EU member states is the overriding value that the European Parliament must defend.

Also, 65 percent of Greeks said that the country has benefited from EU membership (five percentage points above June 2019).

"Against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic, citizens remain pessimistic," the statement said, as 56 percent of respondents in Greece believe the country's economic situation will be worse in a year's time, with the corresponding figure among all 27 European member-states being just 3 points lower (53 pct).

One in four Greeks (25 pct) and one in five Europeans (21 pct) have the opposite view, that is, that the economic situation will be better. Nineteen percent of Greeks believe that it will remain the same, with the corresponding percentage of Europeans amounting to 23 percent on average.

The rates in Greece and Europe remain almost the same for those who expect an improvement in their personal situation, with 25 pct of Greeks and 21 pct of Europeans believing that this will be improved in a year.

Respectively, 40 percent of Greeks believe that their situation will be worse in a year, with the European average amounting to 24 percent. Thirty-five percent of Greeks and 52 percent of Europeans believe that their personal situation will remain the same.

[ANA-MPA]