By Martin Banks - 27th May 2009
The findings suggest that the number of citizens planning to vote is growing
EU parliament
A new opinion poll says support is growing for the upcoming European elections.
The parliament-commissioned poll says 49 per cent of those questioned intend to vote in the 4-7 June poll compared with 34 per cent in January.
Some will see this as vindication of the €18m campaign launched by parliament to raise awareness of the elections.
According to the poll, unemployment and the economy still top the list of Europeans' concerns.
It says 43 per cent of respondents said they were certain to vote and a further 6 per cent said they were very likely to do so. Some 12 per cent seem certain not to vote, down from 19 per cent at the start of the year.
A parliament source said, "The findings suggest that the number of citizens planning to vote is growing, but there is still no guarantee that the turnout rate will be equivalent to that of 2004."
When it comes to campaign issues, unemployment is still the top concern for 57 per cent of Europeans, followed by economic growth (45 per cent).
Next come insecurity (32 per cent), and the future of pensions (31 per cent), which now come well ahead of inflation, purchasing power, and other broad concerns such as climate change and terrorism.
Meanwhile, the Strasbourg-based Assembly of European Regions is urging voters to turn out and vote in the election.
Its president Michèle Sabban said the European elections represent an "essential moment for EU democratic life."
She said, "Even more, they constitute the symbol of success of the European project: approximately 375 million voters coming from 27 member states are going to vote for a unique parliament, the only trans-national, multilingual and directly elected parliament of the world. This is remarkable."
"The choices made by voters have real consequences on everyday life whether it is in relation to the big questions such as the economic crisis and climate change, or everyday subjects such as health and transport. Europe plays a major role.”
"It is a well known fact that today about 80 per cent of all decisions of national parliaments are a consequence of strategic decisions previously taken in Brussels.
"The implementation and execution of these regulations very much is taken care of by local and regional authorities.
"Therefore it is in the strong interest of regions and their citizens to influence the decisions coming from Brussels."
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.