The majority (63%) of European voters either view the work of the European Commission negatively or have no opinion.
That is according to a damning new poll by Ipsos for Euronews. The news outlet noted that support for the Commission was “alarmingly low” in some states—especially in France, where just 18% of those questioned responded positively.
The European Commission, EU’s executive branch, consists of 27 members, one from each member state, and is solely responsible for proposing laws for consideration by the European Parliament. The Commission president—currently, Ursula von der Leyen—decides on areas of responsibility for each commissioner and also sets the Commission’s policy agenda.
Under the past five years of von der Leyen’s presidency, Commission policies have evoked considerable ire as they have attempted to expand the EU’s power at the expense of the national sovereignty of member states. The dislike of the Commission’s policies has been apparent, as evidenced by the EU’s legal battles with Hungary (and the former conservative Polish government) as well as the pan-European farmers’ protests that have been going on for months.
Hungarian MP Barna Pál Zsigmond described the results of this poll as “eye-opening.” He added that they signal “the need for change in Brussels.”
Indeed, they show that simply pretending to take popular positions on issues like immigration and the environment ahead of the European elections is not enough—that action is needed instead.
The poll of 26,000 EU citizens from 18 member states saw 37% of respondents say they viewed the work of Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission positively, while 31% said they viewed it negatively. That left 32% who didn’t know.
Support for the Commission was particularly low in the Czech Republic (21% positive, 41% negative), Slovakia (26% positive, 37% negative), and Hungary (23% positive, 39% negative).
Portugal, Denmark, and Spain produced the highest favourable ratings, with 61%, 54% and 53% respectively saying they viewed the work of the Commission positively.
Ipsos did not ask respondents why they hold either positive or negative views, although another of its polls for Euronews did last month suggest that next-to-no European voters believe their politicians are doing a good job handling illegal migration.
