Survey: More than half of Romanians point to war in Ukraine as one of EU's main challenges

A total of 58% of the Romanian respondents to a recent Eurobarometer survey believe the war in Ukraine is one of the main challenges the EU is facing. This is higher than the EU average of 47% of respondents who share this belief.

The cost of living worries 31% of the Romanian respondents, which is close to the EU average of 29%, while irregular migration is seen as a challenge by 26% of the local respondents, which is lower than the EU average of 38%.

A total of 22% of the Romanians responding to the survey identified climate change and environmental issues as another challenge, which is below the EU average of 29%.

When it comes to the EU's strengths, 35% of the Romanian respondents pointed to respect for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, which is similar to the EU average of 36%. At the same time, 31% indicated as a strength the economic, industrial, and trading power of the EU, but also the good relationships and solidarity between the EU's member states; while 30% pointed to the standard of living in the union, above the EU average of 24%.

When asked about the areas that the EU should prioritize, 37% of the local respondents pointed to security and defense, higher than the EU average of 34%; 26% to the war in Ukraine; and 19% to the environment and climate change.

The Eurobarometer was conducted between September 3 and September 10, following 25,893 EU interviews, including 1,007 in Romania.

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