Climate action among top issues for German voters ahead of 2024 EU Parliament elections - survey
Clean Energy Wire
Action against climate change ranks among the topics people in Germany want the European Parliament to prioritise, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. Climate action and EU defence are jointly ranked as the third highest issues respondents in Germany said the EU Parliament should address. The highest priority was given to democracy and the rule of law, while the future of Europe ranked second, the European Parliament's survey, published six months before the 2024 EU parliamentary elections, found.
Across the EU, the fight against poverty and concerns about public health topped the list of topics Europeans would like the Parliament to prioritise, with climate action coming in third. The latest Eurobarometer, which surveyed over 26,500 people across the bloc (over 1,500 in Germany), aimed to highlight the attitude of Europeans towards the EU ahead of the Parliamentary elections. Interest in voting in these elections is higher than last time: 68 percent of EU citizens say they are likely to vote, up from 59 percent in autumn 2018. Germany has set the minimum age to vote in the EU elections at 16, as have Austria, Belgium and Malta. The voting age in Greece is 17, while the remaining member states set it at 18 years of age. A large majority (71%) of German voters in the age group 15 – 24 is now planning to vote.
The elections, which will be held between 6 and 9 June next year, will shape the institutions that have to help deliver a 55 percent greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030, and pave the road for climate neutrality in 2050 across the EU. Polls consistently show that European voters see climate change as a major threat, but many voters are equally or more concerned about issues such as the cost-of-living crisis or security policy following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to the barometer, climate action was ranked the highest as an issue to be prioritised by voters in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Malta.
