Survey: Europeans less worried about immigration than thought

People in southern and eastern European nations are more concerned about the exodus of young compatriots than recent influxes of people from elsewhere, according to the findings of a new survey.

The wide-ranging analysis of attitudes among 50,000 voters in 14 European Union nations was conducted by YouGov on behalf of the European Council on Foreign Relations. It found people in Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Spain feared their stagnant or falling populations would lead to economic woe.

People in northern and western European nations were far more likely to be worried about influxes of foreigners than people in southern and eastern Europe.

Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said some nationalist and populist political parties in Europe plan to campaign on an anti-immigration platform ahead of the EU elections in May but the survey suggests voters are less concerned about immigration than the parties believe.

"The EU elections have been sold as a battleground over the heart of Europe," he told the Guardian newspaper.

"The findings from this poll should give heart to pro-Europeans, and show that there are still votes to be won on major issues, such as climate change, healthcare, housing, and living standards. They will be making a strategic blunder if they accept the framing of the anti-European parties that this election will be won or lost on migration alone," he said.

The council commissioned the survey in a bid to find the major issues likely to dominate the upcoming elections.

Populist governments in countries including Hungary and Italy have declared their intention to make the EU elections, which will be held between May 23 and 26, all about immigration. During the elections, Europe's 374 million voters will pick politicians to represent them in the European Parliament for the next five years.

Hungary has refused to accept refugees under the EU's quota system and declared it will not allow asylum-seekers to permanently locate there.

But, despite the concerns of some nationalist and populist leaders in Europe, immigration numbers have fallen sharply during the past two years.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the 116,000 people who crossed the Mediterranean in 2018 was only around 10 percent of the number who did so in 2015.

While immigration is less troubling to people in southern and eastern Europe than may have been predicted, voters there do have concerns. These include climate change, terrorism, corruption, and nationalism. People throughout Europe identified radical Islam and environmental protection as their main concerns.

Because the United Kingdom is currently slated to leave the EU, British voters are not set to take part in the May elections. The EU has told the UK it must either leave the bloc by April 12 or participate in the elections, which would inevitably mean a long delay to the UK's exit.