europe’s millennials want more social protection, … millennial... · thinkyoung’s founder and...

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PRESSRELEASE

EUROPE’SMILLENNIALSWANTMORESOCIAL

PROTECTION,MAJORSURVEYSHOWS

MillennialsvaluetheEU,supportanEUarmy,andwantprogressivepolicieslikeminimumwagesandunemploymentbenefits

Brussels,November27,2018(EMBARGOED)–MillennialswanttheEuropeanUniontodomuchmoretosupportsocialwelfarepoliciesliketheminimumwage,accordingtoamajornewopinionsurveypublishedinBrusselsonTuesday,November27.Withjustsixmonthsuntilthe2019EuropeanParliamentelections,theMillennialDialoguesurveyshows that they favour policies that provide a strong social safety net in uncertain times. Thesurveyrevealsthat52%ofmillennialsbelievetacklingpovertyandreducingsocialandeconomicinequalitiesshouldbeamongtheEU’stoppriorities.Anoverwhelming83%ofmillennialsbelievethe EU should ensure a minimum wage for all workers, 81% want more EU financial aid forchildren,and47%believereducinggendergapsinsalariesandpensionsisoneofthebestwaystotacklegenderinequalities.Thesepriorities show thatmillennialsarewilling to speakupand tobeengaged in thepoliticaldebate.Morethanhalf,53.5%,alsosaythattheEUisheadedinthewrongdirection,aworryingfigurefordecisionmakers,and58%saytheythinkmorecountrieswillleavetheEUafterBrexit.WhenitcomestotheEUitself,thesurveyfoundthatmillennialsaremuchmoreenthusiasticthanthegeneralpublic:79.8%saytheybelieveinthevalueoftheEU,defyingfearsthatthecrisesoverthepastfewyearshavedentedsupportfortheEuropeanproject.Indeed,morethanhalfofmillennials,54.7%,supportthecreationofasingleEuropeanarmy,anissuethatisoftenthoughtofaspoliticallysensitive.TheMillennial Survey is one of the biggest opinion polls ever conducted in Europe: it reached10,000 respondents in10countries that jointlyaccount for78%of theEU’spopulation:France,Germany,Poland,Greece,Spain,Italy,Hungary,Sweden,BelgiumandPortugal.ItiscommissionedbyFEPSincooperationwithThinkYoung,andwiththesupportofthreebusinesspartners,Coca-Cola, BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe) and Microsoft. The survey builds on FEPS’s long standingmillennials research,withmore than23,000 takingpart in its surveysacross theglobebetween2015-2017.

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Anumberofdistinctmillennialviewpointsstandoutinthesurvey:

• The79.8% support for theEU is significantlyhigher than the score amongst the generalpublic,whichisusuallylessthan60%.

• That enthusiasm is tempered by uncertainty about where the EU is headed: 53.5% ofmillennials say it is going in thewrong direction.However, this ismuch better than thefigure from the previous Millennial Dialogue survey, in 2015, which showed that 73%thoughttheEUwasheadedinthewrongdirection.

• Engagement is a big concern: 89.5% of millennials want politicians to do a better jobcommunicatingwhatEUisdoingandhowitimpactsdailylife–meaningthatonlyonein10believetheyarehearingenoughabouttheEU’sroles,responsibilitiesandbenefits.

• Just27%of18-to-24-year-oldsvotedinthe2014elections,comparedtothe42.5%overallaverage.ThissurveysuggeststhatmillennialswereputoffvotingbecausetheyfelttheEUdidnotspeaktotheirgeneration:85%saytheywanttheEUtoinvolveandempowermoreyoungpeopleindecision-making.

• The54.7%backingforanEUarmycontrastswiththecautionshownacrossmanypoliticaldebatesonthisemergingissue.Itcomesfromagenerationthathasbeensparedmilitaryservice,butnonethelessgivestheEUcreditforthepeaceandstabilityonthecontinent.

• ThemillennialsupportfortheEUcomesatadecisivemoment,notjustwiththeEuropeanelections on the horizon but also with the UK preparing to leave the bloc. Yet themillennialssurveyeddonotthinkBrexitwillbetheonlytimeamemberstatewilldepart:58%saytheythinkmorecountrieswillleavetheEUinthefuture.

• However, the survey also shows that millennials do not share the same priorities asnational governments or EU institutions. When asked about the most important issuesfacing the EU, they mentioned poverty and inequality (52%), environmental challenges(40%),themigrationcrisis(33%),andcorruption(32%).Whenitcomestospecificpolicies,anoverwhelming83%supportEUmeasurestosetaminimumwage.

MariaFreitas,PolicyAdvisoratFEPSsaysthesurveyopensthedoorforpolicymakerstoengagewith younger generations. “Millennial enthusiasm for the EU and its values presents a uniqueopportunity for pro-European parties and EU institutions to engage with a demographic thatrepresents over quarter of Europe’s entire population. This is also a chance to help bridge thedividebetweenpolicy-makersandyoungpeople,”shesaid.ThinkYoung’s FounderandChief ThinkerAndreaGerosa said the survey should raise awarenessabout amuch-misunderstoodgeneration.“Millennials areoften ignored in thepolitical process,but they representour future. This surveyasksabout their hopesand ideals, and the result is adistinctsetofpoliticalpriorities. It isuptoourpolitical leadersnowtolistentothesevoices,”hesaid.Forthefullsurvey,embargoeduntil00.00CETonNovember26,clickhere.

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AbouttheMethodologyThe surveywas conducted betweenAugust 27 and September 3, 2018. Therewere over 1,000respondentsineachcountry,andatotalsamplesizeof10,138.Hardquotaswereappliedonthebasisofage,gender,countryandregion.Datawereweightedbasedonsocio-economicstatusandeducationalleveltoensurerepresentativenessusingarandomiterativemethod(RIM),basedonEurostat(2017)andEuropeanSocialSurvey(2016)statistics.Consideringtheweightingandhardquotas,themarginoferrorforthesamplesizeis1.05percentagepoints.PresscontactAlainBloëdt,FEPSSeniorCommunicationAdvisoralain.bloedt@feps-europe.eu+32491568272GuillermoTosca,ThinkYoungguillermo@thinkyoung.eu