{"id":28378,"date":"2020-11-17T09:57:10","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T14:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2020\/11\/17\/before-the-fall-resurgence-most-europeans-approved-of-eus-covid-19-response\/"},"modified":"2024-07-03T14:29:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T18:29:25","slug":"before-the-fall-resurgence-most-europeans-approved-of-eus-covid-19-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2020\/11\/17\/before-the-fall-resurgence-most-europeans-approved-of-eus-covid-19-response\/","title":{"rendered":"2. Before the fall resurgence, most Europeans approved of EU\u2019s COVID-19 response"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Majorities<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Europe was home to some of the earliest \u2013 and largest \u2013 outbreaks<\/a> of the novel coronavirus in February and March. But, following strict quarantine measures in places such as Spain, Italy and France \u2013 as well as some EU-wide initiatives like closing borders between countries<\/a> for the first time in the bloc\u2019s history \u2013 the number of cases fell dramatically. While cases are now rising precipitously<\/a> across much of Europe, results of a survey fielded from June to August indicate that as of summer 2020, many in Europe said the EU had handled COVID-19 well.<\/p>\n\n

(For more on the state of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe at the time of the survey, see \u201cEuropeans approved of EU\u2019s handling of COVID-19 this summer \u2013 but much has changed since\u201d)<\/p>\n\n

Across the eight EU member states surveyed, a median of 61% said the EU had done a good job handling the coronavirus outbreak. Germany and the Netherlands were the most positive toward the EU response, with 68% in both countries agreeing the EU had done a good job handling COVID-19. Publics in Italy (54%) and Belgium (51%) had a more mixed assessment, but about half or more in these countries still said the EU had handled the outbreak well.<\/p>\n\n

In the UK \u2013 which formally left EU in January of this year \u2013 around two-thirds also approved of the EU\u2019s handling of COVID-19. This is notably more Britons than approved of the UK\u2019s own domestic handling of COVID-19, which only 46% applauded.<\/p>\n\n

\"Many<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Outside of the UK, Spain stands out as the only other European country surveyed where more approved of how the EU handled COVID than said the same of their own country \u2013 65% vs. 54% said each had done a good job, respectively.<\/p>\n\n

French adults viewed both the EU and their own country\u2019s response in similar terms, while in places like Italy and Germany, people were more likely to say their own government\u2019s response was good than that of the EU by 20 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n

In Sweden, Italy, Germany and the UK, those on the ideological left were more likely than those on the right to approve of the EU\u2019s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In France \u2013 where the ruling party, En Marche, is centrist<\/a> \u2013 those who place themselves in the center of the ideological spectrum were more likely to approve of the EU\u2019s work. Age, education levels and income levels were only related to opinions of the bloc\u2019s efforts in a handful of countries.<\/p>\n\n

Support for right-wing populist parties was related to criticism of the EU\u2019s response to coronavirus in four European countries. This was most pronounced in Germany, where 53% of those with a favorable opinion of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) said the EU had done well handling the COVID-19 outbreak, versus 69% who do not hold favorable views of the party \u2013 a 16-point difference. Similar differences emerged in Italy, Sweden and the UK.<\/p>\n\n