Eurobarometer survey shows strong and steady support for EU humanitarian action

The results of a new Eurobarometer survey show clear support for EU humanitarian action across the 27 Member States, with 91% of respondents stating that it is important that the EU funds humanitarian aid activities.

The proportion of those who think so has remained unchanged since December 2020 and has been the highest since the first survey conducted in 2010, when it was at 79%. Survey results over the years show a steady increase in public support for the EU's role in responding to humanitarian crises worldwide.

Moreover, 71% of respondents in the new survey agree that humanitarian aid is more efficient if coordinated by the EU as a whole. Almost 9 in 10 respondents hold the view that the EU should sustain or increase existing levels of humanitarian aid funding.  

Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management said: “The recent Eurobarometer findings demonstrate European citizens' strong and steady support for EU humanitarian action. The support for this concrete expression of EU solidarity – one of the fundamental values of the EU – is of particular importance to our efforts. Especially because we have never seen such levels of humanitarian needs worldwide. The EU together with its Member States continues to be a leading global humanitarian donor, taking on more than its share of the globally shared responsibility. Given the growing and increasingly complex humanitarian crises as well as the global funding gap, such clear support from EU citizens only strengthens our dedication and efforts to provide a lifeline to hundreds of millions of people and to mobilise the wider international community to invest in the resilience of the most vulnerable communities.” 

Read the full results

Background

The Special Eurobarometer survey results explore the EU citizens' attitudes towards and perception of the EU as one of the leading humanitarian aid donors.

The survey was conducted in September – October 2023 in the 27 Member States. The previous Eurobarometer on EU Humanitarian Aid was conducted in November – December 2020.