According to a survey carried out between March 18 and 21 by Euroconsumers, a European consumer protection organization, and which included 1003 Portuguese people, 56% of Portuguese people still felt poorly informed about the electoral programs of the political groups with seats in the European Parliament.

About a third of those surveyed do not intend to vote and justify the lack of available information as one of the main reasons, according to a statement released today by DECO PROteste, which is part of this European entity.

"The decision on which party to vote for is made based on information from the electoral programs (41%) or following the political color they support at the national level", point out the results of the survey carried out within the scope of the EP elections.

The EP elections will take place between June 06 and 09 in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU).

Regarding the function and the functioning of the EU, only 24% of Portuguese people show that they are well informed, compared to 19% who revealed a generalized lack of knowledge about the EU.

"The most striking doubts are related to how the number of EP deputies is determined and how they are elected, the rotation between countries of the presidency of the European Council and the way directives are approved", highlights Euroconsumers.

Among the four countries involved in the survey - Belgium, Spain, Italy and Portugal - the Portuguese are the ones who evaluate the EU's performance in the last five years most positively (39% in Portugal, compared to 26% on average in the four countries analyzed).

They particularly praise the performance during the covid-19 pandemic, whose management 68% of Portuguese respondents consider positive, according to the statement.

"On average, in the four countries, when asked about this specific matter, only 26% of respondents positively evaluate the EU's overall activity in the last five years, while 34% evaluate it negatively", highlights Euroconsumers.

Among the most criticized aspects in Portugal regarding the EU's performance are inflation and the cost of living (73% evaluate it negatively in Portugal compared to 65% on average in the four countries), immigration (52%; 63%), the Israel/Palestine war (45%; 53%) and the war in Ukraine (36%;45%).

The greatest future concerns of respondents in Portugal, where trust in the EU is low, are inflation and the rising cost of living (71%, compared to 64%, on average, of the total of the 4 countries), the war in Ukraine (60%; 47%), a possible new world war (56%; 45%), the conflict between Israel and Palestine (51%; 40%) and climate change (49%; 45%), emphasizes the European consumer protection entity in the press release.

The survey also reveals that, regarding the actions that the EU has been taking, the Portuguese highlight as very important issues the demand that it has made to social networks for the protection of minors (80%), as well as more restrictive cybersecurity measures that protect devices connected to the Internet (76%).

"The Portuguese recognize the EU's action on issues such as social networks, the abolition of roaming charges and the implementation of lower limits on CO2 emissions from cars. However, they feel that the information is limited", highlights this organization.

83% of Portuguese people (80% on average in the four countries analyzed) consider that the EU should always take into account the impact of the measures it takes on future generations.

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