Europeans 'more confident' about the economy

A new poll says that Europeans are starting to be more optimistic about the economy's outlook with more people saying that the worst of the economic crisis is behind them.

This is the main finding of a Eurobarometer survey.

It found that 43 per cent of Europeans think that the impact of the crisis on the job market has already reached its peak.

This is one percentage point more than the in previous survey in autumn 2010 and 15 percentage points higher than in spring 2009.

Europeans are also increasingly asking for EU action and stronger European cooperation to tackle the crisis and avoid future problems, it finds.

Nearly eight out of 10 Europeans think stronger coordination of economic policy among EU member states would be effective in tackling the economic situation.

Viviane Reding, commission vice president for justice fundamental rights, "The latest Eurobarometer survey confirms that the EU is gradually emerging from the crisis.

"People believe that the EU is taking effective measures against the crisis and we are back on the path of recovery."

"The survey also shows that the majority of people believe the EU is now going in the right direction. They expect the EU institutions and national governments to continue to confront the common challenge of sustaining growth and creating jobs.

"If we all act responsibly, Europe has a good chance of coming out of the crisis stronger than it was before."

While the general EU trend is positive, there is still some scepticism in countries that continue to face recession and rising unemployment. Differences exist between more "optimistic" and "pessimistic" countries.

A majority of member states, in particular Denmark (68 per cent), Estonia (64 per cent), and Austria (62 per cent), believe that the impact of the economic crisis on the job market has already reached its peak.

The opposite opinion is seen in countries struggling with the crisis, such as Portugal (80 per cent) and Greece (78 per cent).