Italians believe Romanians are the least hard working in Europe, reveals a recent study by Pew Research Center, called 'European Unity on the rocks', which highlights  the most common stereotyping across the continent. Romania, Italy and Greece are among the nations pointed out by the biggest European countries as the least hard working. Italy and Spain are the two European countries with most Romanian migrants.

The Greek see themselves as the most hard working, while everybody else point to Germans as the most hard working Europeans, and all countries surveyed say they are the least corrupt. Romanians are not seen among the most corrupt, but Italians, Spaniards, Greeks, Polish and the Czechs are perceived so.

The survey also underlines the fact that the sovereign debt crisis that started four years ago morphed into a euro currency crisis and eventually into a crisis of public confidence: in the economy, in the future, in the benefits of European economic integration, in membership in the European Union, in the euro and in the free market system.

The crisis has exposed sharp differences between some Europeans. Germans are he strongest supporters of the EU, while Greek are at the other end of the scale. Greeks are among the most disparaging of European economic integration and the harshest critics of the European Union. And they see themselves as Europe’s most hard working people.

The study was conducted in eight EU nations and the United States among 9,108 respondents from March 17 to April 16, 2012.  The full report here.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Arhivafoto.ro)