The 2023 edition of the survey, which is run every two years, shows that the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund are the second most known funds, behind Erasmus. Around 46 % of respondents have heard about the ERDF or the Cohesion Fund.
Awareness of EU-funded projects varies significantly by country, ranging from 15 % in Denmark to 80 % in Poland. Since 2021, it has decreased by four percentage points or more in five Member States – Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia and Germany – with the biggest drop (eight percentage points) in Hungary.
Conducted in June 2023, the Eurobarometer survey entailed 25 718 telephone interviews with citizens aged 15 and above in all 27 EU countries.
Benefits of EU regional funding
The EU’s cohesion policy is aimed at building a smarter, greener, more connected and more social Europe that is closer to its citizens. It enhances economic, social and territorial cohesion by reducing imbalances among regions. For 2014-2020, the EU invested EUR 352 billion in its regions and cities. This has risen to EUR 392 billion for 2021-2027, around a third of the EU’s budget.
Eurobarometer found that around 16 % of respondents say they have benefitted in their daily life from a project funded by the ERDF or the Cohesion Fund. In Poland, 59 % say they have benefitted. The share in Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia is between 32 % and 36 %.
Significantly, 57 % replied that EU-funded projects contribute to their feeling of being an EU citizen, with 22 % indicating ‘to a large extent’ and 35 % ‘to some extent’.
In 25 EU countries, the impact of EU support is viewed positively by at least 75 % of respondents, reaching 95 % in Poland. The exceptions are Italy and the Netherlands, with figures of 56 % and 61 % respectively.
Poland also has the highest number of respondents (59 %) who say that an ERDF or Cohesion Fund project has improved their life. The corresponding figure for the EU as a whole is 16 %. EU-funded projects contribute to the feeling of being an EU citizen for 57 % of respondents.
The Internet and television are the most important information sources on EU-funded projects: 38 % of respondents who had heard about EU-funded projects got information via the Internet. For 36 %, it came from national television. Other main sources include local and regional newspapers and billboards, each of which had provided information for 24 % of respondents, and local or regional television, via which 20 % had obtained information.
Knowledge of funds
Concerning awareness of EU funds, 46 % of respondents have heard of the ERDF or Cohesion Fund, and 45 % have heard of the European Social Fund (ESF+). Around 29 % of respondents have heard about Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU) or NextGenerationEU. Interreg and the Just Transition Fund (JTF) are known to 11 % and 12 % respectively.
Overall, 66 % of respondents know of at least one shared management fund. The same percentage are aware of EU support related to COVID-19. Regarding shared management funds, national figures range from 90 % in Slovakia to 36 % in Denmark. For COVID-19 support, they range from 81 % in Cyprus and Greece to 46 % in the Netherlands.
In terms of priority regions, 63 % of respondents say that the EU should invest in all regions; 33 % say it should only invest in poorer regions. The proportion of those who believe the EU should invest in all regions is stable in relation to 2021 (64 %) and up five percentage points from 2019.
The majority of respondents in all but two EU countries say that the EU should invest in all regions. The exceptions are Bulgaria, where 55 % think that investment should be targeted at poorer regions, and Portugal, where 48 % say that investment should go to all regions and 49 % say that it should go to poorer regions only.
Regarding regions to prioritise, 65 % of respondents would give priority to those with high unemployment. Next come deprived urban areas and remote rural or mountainous areas (both 53 %) and border regions (29 % – up six percentage points from 2021). Maintaining and improving the competitiveness of developed regions is considered a priority by 22 % of respondents.
Policy priorities
Most respondents see all policy domains listed in the survey as important for their city or region. Investment in education, health or social infrastructure is considered important by 93 %. It is followed by the environment (89 %), renewable and clean energy (85 %), research and innovation (84 %), support for SMEs (83 %) and vocational training (82 %).
Concerning priorities for the coming years, education, health or social infrastructure and the environment are again uppermost in respondents’ minds: 51 % and 39 % respectively view them as important. Other priorities are renewable and clean energy (34 %), support for SMEs (28 %), transport facilities (27 %), research and innovation (26 %) and vocational training (24 %).
A small majority of respondents think that decisions about EU regional policy projects should be taken at sub-national levels: 30 % opt for regional level and 24 % for local level.
A total of 26 % of respondents are aware of cooperation between regions in different countries resulting from EU funding, with the highest level in Poland (63 %). The same percentage know of at least one of the EU’s four macro-regional strategies, which address common challenges faced by specific geographical areas. Awareness levels range from 7 % in Portugal to 64 % in Finland.
Finally, 35 % of respondents were able to name at least one EU outermost region. This is largely driven by high knowledge levels in France and Spain, which together account for seven of the nine outermost regions. In 18 Member States, fewer than one in four respondents could name an outermost region.
Find out more
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/whats-new/newsroom/10-09-2023-citizens-awareness-of-eu-regional-policy_en
https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff6lagKrQfg&t=2s
