Press Release AIPR - Eu Citizens Want One European Parliament Seat In Brussels

The European Parliament should have just one seat in Brussels, according to an EU-wide opinion poll commissioned by European Voice, the leading EU newspaper, and carried out by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB), a research-based communications consulting firm owned by Burson-Marsteller.

By Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates *
Brussels - May 30, 2006 - The European Parliament should have just one seat in Brussels, according to an EU-wide opinion poll commissioned by European Voice, the leading EU newspaper, and carried out by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates (PSB), a research-based communications consulting firm owned by Burson-Marsteller.
The survey, carried out at the beginning of May and released today in Brussels, explores the views of 1,000 citizens from the 25 member states on issues ranging from the seat of the European Parliament, the respective influence of business and NGOs in Brussels, and which languages should be used in the EU institutions.
The key findings include:
79% of respondents believe the EU is strongly influenced by business, while NGOs are seen as less influential.
More people believe the EU should be involved in areas such as the environment (86%), food safety (82%), energy (78%), trade (73%), health (72%), immigration and foreign affairs than do competition policy (54%), tax (49%) and culture (47%).
People trust the EU more than their own governments (37% trust the EU, 22% their own government). This is more so in the new member states (49%-11%).
While 56% of those polled believe EU membership has had a positive effect on their country only 37% believe it has had this effect on them personally. However, 82% believe that the EU institutions communicate poorly with them.
68% of respondents believe the European Parliament should have just one seat - and 76% of those believe that seat should be in Brussels.
People are in favor of multilingualism, with 59% believing all meetings should be interpreted into all EU languages.
Dana Spinant, Editor of European Voice, said: “The survey shows that people feel they are poorly informed about the EU; they do not understand the way it works; and they talk about it less often than they talk about national or local issues. Despite this, they still trust the EU more than they trust their own governments, especially in the new member states. They also feel that business has a stronger influence over EU decision-making than NGOs - but they don't trust businesses and they do trust NGOs. This combination is a potential source of popular dissatisfaction with the EU.”

Mark Penn, President and founder of PSB and global CEO of Burson-Marsteller, commented: “The survey shows that the majority of EU citizens see themselves as pro-European but that the benefits of EU membership are not clear enough. This is particularly a problem with citizens from the first 15 member states. However, it also indicates an opportunity to convince some groups - like women with children - who typically are not hostile to the EU but at present believe it is not relevant to their lives. To better engage with such citizens, the data shows that the EU needs to transform itself into a body which is seen as open and transparent about its workings, with an agenda of policies which reflect the priorities of its people and where the benefits that EU membership brings are clear.”