The majority of inhabitants of the European Union, namely 60%, are for further weapon supplies to Ukraine, in Germany this position is supported by 61% of the population.

These are the data of the Eupinions poll released by the Bertelsmann Foundation (Die Bertelsmann Stiftung) on Wednesday, October 5, together with the Belgian King Baudouin Foundation, Deutsche Welle reported.

According to the study, Italy is the only country in the EU, most of the Italians do not support the idea of further arms supplies to Ukraine. 42% of Italians approved of such a prospect.

Poles, on the contrary, are particularly active supporters of this idea: 84% of respondents in Poland supported it.

Supply of arms to Ukraine on behalf of the EU

At the same time, the idea of supplying weapons to Kiev on behalf of the entire European Union finds more support among residents of all EU countries than the idea of sending weapons to Ukraine by their own country. Depending on the EU member state, where the survey was conducted, the difference in the level of approval of the inhabitants of one or another option of supplies was from 3 to 7 percent in favor of the first of them.

The greatest approval of the idea of further arms supplies to Ukraine is found among groups of population aged 16-25 and 56-70.

At the same time, the share of residents of the European Union who approve of the supply of weapons to Ukraine slightly decreased from March to June. It is most evident in France, where the decline in support left 8%. "In March everyone was in a state of shock and the desire to support Ukraine was very high. Three months later, the shock has passed, but the desire for support is still great, although the negative consequences (of EU sanctions against Russia) have become more visible in everyday life. This endurance is political capital that needs to be developed," Bertelsmann Foundation expert Isabelle Hoffmann commented on the results of the survey.

Willingness to reduce dependence on energy from Russia

According to the results of the Eupinions poll, 72% of the EU residents would like the EU to become independent from Russian energy resources. They would be ready to put up with personal difficulties in order to achieve this goal, stated the participants of the research.

Most actively in support of this were the Poles (80%) and Italians (76%). At the same time, in Germany, whose dependence on Russian gas remains high, the share of those who would approve of an exit from this dependence even taking into account personal inconveniences was the lowest among all EU countries: 69%.

Attitudes towards refugees from Ukraine in the EU

As for the willingness of EU residents to accept Ukrainians fleeing the war in their countries, it remains high throughout the EU. 81% of respondents indicated that they approve of such an approach. By comparison, in March, immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this figure was even 5% higher. In France, the drop in support for refugees was 8, in the Netherlands, 7, and in Poland, 6 percentage points.

"Our numbers show that Europeans support strong action to help Ukraine. At the same time, the burden is growing, and with it personal problems. There is a risk that the desire to help and the personal burden will come into conflict with each other and create the potential for political conflict," warns Isabelle Hoffman.

What do the citizens of EU think about Ukraine's admission to the European Union?

Two thirds of the survey participants (66%) stated that they would like to see Ukraine as a member of the EU. However the level of approval of this idea in different EU countries is not equal. Thus, in Poland 84% of respondents favored the European perspective of the neighboring country, while in Germany and France - 60% each.

According to 71% of respondents, the EU already plays an important role when solving international issues. Meanwhile 77% of the interrogated stated that they would like to see the USA among their allies.

Data for the Bertelsmann Foundation's tri-monthly Eupinios survey were collected in June 2022. A representative sample of 12,000 people across the EU took part in the survey.