Negative opinions of the EU among citizens 2023

As of 2023, the most common negative opinion of the European Union given by citizens was that it does not allow for enough control of international borders regarding migration, with 23 percent of respondents agreeing with this statement. In a close second, 22 percent of respondents said that the EU was bureaucratic, while 19 percent said that the union was a waste of money.

There was significant variation between the member states of the EU in their responses, as 47 percent of Austrians responded that the EU doesn't allow for enough control of borders, while only 12 percent of Irish, Lithuanian, and Finnish respondents thought so. While in most countries, lack of control of borders was the most common negative reason cited, in Sweden and Finland a much larger share of respondents cited bureaucracy as a problem, with 38 and 36 percent respectively. Similarly, in France, a much larger percentage of respondents cited the EU being a waste of money than other problems.

Share of respondents giving a negative response to the question of what the European Union means to them in 2023, by response and country

Characteristic	Not enough international border controls	Bureaucracy	Waste of money	Loss of our cultural identity	More crime	Unemployment
Austria	47%	33%	37%	31%	35%	24%
Slovakia	36%	30%	34%	15%	26%	8%
Czechia	34%	38%	28%	17%	16%	6%
Germany	33%	36%	27%	10%	17%	5%
Greece	31%	18%	20%	27%	22%	21%
Cyprus	31%	27%	29%	26%	31%	23%
Malta	29%	22%	19%	23%	19%	17%
Portugal	27%	17%	5%	10%	13%	8%
Slovenia	26%	18%	17%	11%	17%	4%
Belgium	24%	16%	22%	11%	12%	6%
European Union	23%	22%	19%	12%	12%	8%
France	23%	22%	31%	14%	11%	8%
Sweden	20%	38%	19%	6%	12%	3%
Luxembourg	20%	21%	21%	9%	20%	5%
Croatia	20%	12%	12%	20%	13%	6%
Hungary	19%	13%	8%	10%	10%	6%
Italy	19%	15%	14%	13%	11%	12%
Denmark	18%	26%	10%	9%	11%	4%
Romania	18%	13%	15%	19%	16%	8%
Netherlands	17%	26%	11%	11%	6%	1%
Spain	15%	14%	13%	6%	5%	7%
Estonia	15%	26%	22%	18%	9%	12%
Bulgaria	14%	15%	17%	13%	10%	8%
Poland	13%	11%	10%	12%	9%	5%
Latvia	13%	16%	15%	10%	8%	10%
Ireland	12%	13%	6%	9%	4%	2%
Finland	12%	36%	16%	6%	10%	2%