In the EU, 85 percent would link EU funds to respect of the rule of law, 82 percent of Hungarians agree, Eurobarometer survey finds

According to the results of the latest Eurobarometer survey published on Wednesday, 88 percent of Hungarians believe that member states should take a more unified approach when it comes to global challenges. In the representative EU opinion poll, which is conducted every six months, this is just shy of the 90 percent EU average, which is also weighted based on population.

While EU citizens would prioritise defense and security in order for the EU to strengthen its position in the world (37 percent), these areas are only in third place for Hungarians (29 percent), tied with energy independence and infrastructure. In Hungary, similarly to several eastern and southern Member States, competitiveness ranks first with 36 percent (the EU average being 32 percent). Food security and agriculture rank second with 35 percent, which is significantly higher than the EU average of 25 percent.

In the survey commissioned by the European Parliament, 82 percent of Hungarians agreed that the EU needs more tools to address global challenges, which is higher than the EU average of 77 percent. The question is particularly timely because this was the first Eurobarometer survey since the presentation of the draft seven-year budget, due to start in 2028. For this reason, the survey included several questions on this topic, such as whether the EU should finance more projects. The votes in favour of this were close to 80 percent in both the EU and Hungary, but the overall ratio was lower in Hungary, as was the percentage of those who strongly agreed despite the country being a net beneficiary. The draft budget also proposed common, EU-specific revenue sources. According to the survey, Hungarians would support this in the third highest proportion.

The situation is similar with regard to the rule of law and democratic principles being tied to EU funds, albeit with greater shifts. Within the EU, 40 percent agreed with this fully, 45 percent said they 'somewheat agree', while in Hungary this ratio was 21-61. Despite some funds intended for Hungary having been frozen due to concerns over the rule of law, there is still a significant majority in favor of this approach in Hungary, with only 3 percent opposed to the idea completely and 14 percent being somewhat opposed. (It was just this week, on Tuesday, that the subject of the rule of law was discussed by EU ministers in Copenhagen, where the Hungarian Minister for European Affairs, János Bóka indicated that the Hungarian government does not support maintaining or extending such measures in the next seven-year budget.)

There is a significant difference when it comes to the EU's perception in Hungary when compared to the EU average. Looking at the latter, more than half of citizens (52 percent) have a positive image, which has only happened twice in the past two decades. The proportion of those with a negative opinion is slightly lower in Hungary (16 percent versus 13 percent) than in the EU, but the proportion of those with a neutral opinion is the highest in Hungary among the 27 member states, at 42 percent. The share of those with a neutral opinion increased by 4 percent compared to the previous survey, with 2 percent of those with a positive opinion and 2 percent of those with a negative opinion having changed their minds.

Even with that, those who have a positive view of the EU are still in the majority in Hungary (45 percent).

The share of those who are neutral about the impact of the EU on their daily lives was also well above the EU average in Hungary (42 percent versus 31 percent). The share of those who see this impact as positive is slightly lower than it is in the EU on average: 42 percent of Hungarians see the EU's impact as quite positive, while 3 percent considers it very positive, compared to 44 percent and 6 percent across all member states. Meanwhile, there is a slight increase in the number of Hungarians who feel that EU membership has benefited the country, with only 22 percent believing the opposite. This is roughly in line with the overall average.

However, when it comes to the benefits of the EU, the top four responses in Hungary were in reverse order compared to the EU as a whole. In Hungary, job opportunities were mentioned most often, followed by economic growth, cooperation with other EU countries, followed by the contribution of membership to peace and security.