The European Union’s in-house pollsters have concluded that their citizens overwhelmingly support the decisions made in Brussels, and want more of what the EU is giving them. It doesn’t take much digging to discover that someone is cooking the books.

How the EU uses polls to manufacture consent

The Eurobarometer survey seems custom-designed to deliver the answers Brussels wants

The topline results from the latest Eurobarometer survey paint a rosy picture of life in the EU. 75% of respondents see the EU “as a place of stability in a troubled world,” they value its “contribution to protecting peace and strengthening security,” and “vast majorities of Europeans” want deeper integration and more power for Brussels to “face global challenges,” with defense and security their top priority.

Conducted twice a year since 1973, the Eurobarometer survey ostensibly provides a snapshot of public opinion across the bloc: which policy initiatives citizens support, which ones they oppose, and how they feel about life in the union, its enlargement, and its centralization and integration.

Approximately 1,000 people are interviewed in each member state, although this number varies. In Germany, 1,500 people are surveyed, for example, while 500 people are interviewed in smaller states such as Cyprus, Luxemburg, and Malta.

Eurobarometer is funded and operated by the European Commission, which is the first indication that it might be designed to generate the results the Commission wants. Examining how the Eurobarometer pollsters ask their questions makes this even more obvious.

In the latest Eurobarometer poll, respondents were asked “which of the following aspects should the EU focus on in order to strengthen its position in the world?” Defense and security came out on top at 39%, followed by energy independence at 35%. The Commission then reported these results by claiming that “to strengthen its position in the world, citizens think the EU should focus on defence and security and energy independence.”

In reality, citizens are not clamoring at the EU to focus on these issues. Instead, they are choosing from a list of answers – including “competitiveness,” “EU values,” and “climate action,” all of which are presented as strengthening the EU’s position in the world. Respondents are not asked whether these areas should be handled by national or local government instead.

That these answers perfectly line up with the EU’s policy priorities is likely no accident. Defense and security was presented as an option in the latest poll, as the EU is currently loosening deficit rules to boost defense spending, and offering member states €150 billion ($171 billion) loans to produce and procure weapons. 

The last Eurobarometer survey, published in April, found that “disinformation” was the chief concern of respondents, right as the EU was imposing censorship rules during elections in Hungary and Bulgaria, and pushing its ‘Democracy Shield’ initiative in the name of fighting said “disinformation.” This time around, “disinformation” did not appear as a choice.

By controlling the questions, the Commission controls the answers.

https://www.rt.com/news/642452-eu-eurobarometer-poll-consent/

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