Poll: Majority of Europeans want Brussels to act to curb sanction inflation and push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war

Policies pushed by Brussels, a recent poll shows, are seen as having contributed to the escalation of the armed conflict rather than its resolution.

That’s according to the research group Századvég, which examined public attitudes toward the Russia-Ukraine crisis, including expectations toward Brussels decision-makers, based on a 38-country public opinion survey as a part of the Europe Project.

The survey found that 68 percent of EU citizens are concerned about the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

War anxiety, not surprisingly, spans Europe, with citizens from Hungary (93 percent), Germany (81 percent), and Portugal (78 percent) being the most concerned about the war, while Bosnians and Slovenes (48 percent) are the least concerned. Public worry about an escalation of the armed conflict in Europe has also been stoked by the lack of meaningful communication between Russia and Ukraine and the escalation of military operations.

According to the survey, 62 percent of respondents from the EU and 63 percent of those from the former socialist bloc and Visegrad group are worried about the possibility of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis escalating into a major war or their own country getting dragged into the conflict.

The fallout from the war between Russia and Ukraine as well as the sanctions imposed by Brussels have presented significant difficulties for the governments of most European nations. While opinions among European citizens about how well their own governments handled the crisis differ widely, there is widespread agreement in Europe regarding what is expected of the authorities in Brussels.

According to the survey, 84 percent of citizens in the European Union and the former socialist countries, and 83 percent in the Visegrad countries agree that Brussels should finally be called upon to take action to slow down rapidly rising prices and put an end to the war rather than simply watching helplessly.

It should be emphasized that in every European country surveyed, more than 60 percent of respondents expect EU leaders to act on this issue. In Hungary, 78 percent of those polled believe that Brussels should act to curb sanction inflation and promote peace.

Demonstrating the strength of Europeans' support for peace, more than three-quarters (76 percent) of EU respondents believe that Russia and Ukraine should be compelled to negotiate peace in order to put the war to an early end.

It is noteworthy that in all 38 of the surveyed European nations, the majority of respondents agreed that it is crucial to bring the parties to the armed conflict to the negotiating table.

The survey results make clear that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is causing significant concern among European citizens and that there is widespread agreement that Brussels should take action to end the conflict and promote peace.