Trust in the European Union has gone up since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, a study has found. Interestingly, the same study, carried out by the Eurofound agency, shows that trust in the EU was higher than that in national Governments.
Malta is one of the countries where trust in the EU exceeds that expressed in the national Government, with the latter having a score failing to reach the middle of the range 5.
It also shows a clear link with the provision of financial assistance, with trust levels higher in those countries who were provided higher levels of support. Despite the efforts of misinformation attributed to third countries, particularly Russia and China, the survey shows that the largest increases of trust were reported in two of the country that suffered most by the pandemic: in Italy and Spain.
Decreases in trust were registered in Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden, three countries whos Governments were unwilling to accept a massive recovery package in the form of direct cash contributions, pushing instead for loans.
The survey, also looked at the impact of the pandemic, with a very particular conclusion focusing on young people, who rather than financial problems, felt the pinch of being restricted in their movement. They “feel more excluded from society” and “have not yet recuperated from the mental scars wrought by the pandemic,” Eurofound said.
The survey looks at how people were affected by the pandemic, with, expectedly, unemployed respondents being most concerned about their financial situation. Around six out of ten did not receive any form of formal financial support since the outbreak of the pandemic and reported that they often relied on informal support. Close to six out of ten respondents who say they asked for financial support but did not receive it express difficulties making ends meet, compared to around three out of ten who received financial support.
The survey carried out by the agency that focused on social and employment aspects, was carried out in all EU member states and involved more than 91,000 people.
