Flash Eurobarometer 429: The euro area

For this survey carried out on 12- 14 October 2015, some 17 500 respondents across the 18 euro area countries were interviewed by phone.
The results show the highest overall support for the euro since the start of the annual surveys in 2002. A euro area majority of 61% sees the euro as good for their own country, an increase by 4 percentage points compared with 2014.
The highest increase in support compared with the 2014 results was noted in Portugal with a raise of 11 percentage points to 61%, followed by Austria, Cyprus and Spain each with a raise of eight points.On the other hand, strongest decrease was noted in the Netherlands by seven points to now 57%.Support in Lithuania for its new currency since adopting the euro in January 2015 was noted at 55%.
A clear euro area majority of 71% sees the euro as good for the EU as a whole.There are nevertheless some important differences between the 19 countries.
Asked about the need for reforms to improve the economy, an overall majority of 78% is in favour of reforms in general.
However, support varies considerably depending on the specific sector, ranging from 93% in favour of labour market reforms to 65% in favour of market reforms fostering competition and privatisation.
Citizens replied to a set of questions focusing on issues ranging from perception and practical aspects of the euro to their assessment of the economic situation, policy and reforms in their country and in the euro area. In addition, citizens were asked about their views and expectations regarding household income and inflation.

The results by volumes are distributed as follows:

• Volume A: Countries
• Volume AA: Groups of countries
• Volume A' (AP): Trends
• Volume AA' (AAP): Trends of groups of countries
• Volume B: EU/socio-demographics
• Volume B' (BP) : Trends of EU/ socio-demographics
• Volume C: Country/socio-demographics

Researchers may also contact GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences: https://www.gesis.org/eurobarometer