The European Parliament's last Eurobarometer before the elections scheduled for June reveals that, while it remains below the European average, the number of Portuguese who admit to voting has increased. The economy, job creation and the current geopolitical context are key concerns.
Although 71% of Portuguese respondents don't know the exact date of the European elections (it's 9 June), there are now more of them, compared to 2019, who admit to voting for the European Parliament. They are 57%, 10 pp higher than in the last European elections, but still below the European average of 71%.
The results of this Eurobarometer, released less than two months before the elections, indicate that EU citizens attach greater importance to the European elections due to the current geopolitical context: eight out of ten (81%) of those surveyed agree that this makes voting even more important. In Portugal, the figure is as high as 90%.
The defence and security of the European Union are gaining ground among the concerns of Europeans, but other priorities are more frequently mentioned.
In the next election campaign, the Portuguese want to see the economy and job creation (55%), the fight against poverty and social exclusion (52%) and support for public health (48%) debated - similar to the majority of Europeans, who put the fight against poverty and social exclusion (33%) and public health (32%) as the main concerns to be debated.
Unsurprisingly, EU defence and security are mentioned as top priorities in the election campaign in countries such as Denmark (56%), Finland (55%) and Lithuania (53%).