The map above shows how each European Union (EU) country views the EU as a whole based on polls conducted by Eurobarometer in May 2016 vs November 2017.
It shows the net difference between the positive and negative scores based on the following question:
In general, does the EU conjure up for you a very positive, fairly positive, neutral, fairly negative or very negative image.
Positive scores mean more positive feelings than negative and negative scores mean the opposite.
Overall, here’s how the numbers play out buy country:
| Country | Net Score (2016) | Net Score (2017) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | -5 | +4 | +9 |
| Belgium | +4 | +16 | +20 |
| Bulgaria | +34 | +43 | +9 |
| Croatia | +18 | +13 | -5 |
| Cyprus | -14 | +10 | +24 |
| Czech Republic | -8 | 0 | +8 |
| Denmark | +11 | +23 | +12 |
| Estonia | +16 | +28 | +12 |
| Finland | +11 | +24 | +13 |
| France | +7 | +12 | +5 |
| Germany | 0 | +29 | +29 |
| Greece | -35 | -20 | +15 |
| Hungary | +4 | +21 | +17 |
| Ireland | +44 | +50 | +6 |
| Italy | +5 | +14 | +9 |
| Latvia | +13 | +20 | +7 |
| Lithuania | +34 | +39 | +5 |
| Luxembourg | +23 | +40 | +17 |
| Malta | +28 | +37 | +9 |
| Netherlands | +4 | +17 | +13 |
| Poland | +32 | +37 | +5 |
| Portugal | +23 | +41 | +18 |
| Romania | +28 | +33 | +5 |
| Slovakia | +4 | +21 | +17 |
| Slovenia | +12 | +19 | +7 |
| Spain | +7 | +26 | +19 |
| Sweden | +10 | +22 | +12 |
| United Kingdom | -5 | +2 | +7 |
| EU28 | +7 | +19 | +12 |
The 5 countries with the biggest increase in positive image are: Germany, Cyprus, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
Although, most interestingly the UK has had a similar, smaller shift in sentiment. Going form -5 to +2 during that time. This in theory means slightly more people in the UK have a positive image of the EU compared to a negative one (35% positive vs 33% negative).
That said, it still has the 3rd lowest score after only Greece and the Czech Republic.
All countries, with the exception of Croatia, shifted to a more positive view of the EU. And even then, Croatia still has a +13 rating.
The 5 most pro-EU counties are currently: Ireland, Bulgaria, Portugal, Luxembourg and Lithuania.
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Francis Stalpers says
January 8, 2019 at 1:40 pmNumbers Belgium not correct.
From +4 to +16 is not a change of +20.
Maybe it must be -4 (2016), or maybe it must be +12 (change).