Försvagat opinionsstöd för EU (2012:5epa)
After several years of increase, we now witness a significant drop in Swedish public support for the EU. In the 2011 survey from the SOM Institute, only 46 percent declare themselves in favour of Sweden´s EU membership.
This is a fall by as much as seven percentage points, compared to the all-time high 53 percent in the year 2010. Behind the decline in support, one finds an apparent anxiety regarding the economy. If the respondents perceive that the economic situation is worsening because of the EU membership, they will tend to view the membership as something negative. And in the year of the crisis 2011, far more Swedes than in 2010 view the EU membership as bad for the Swedish economy.
This analysis draws upon the survey of public opinion annually published by SIEPS in collaboration with the SOM Institute at the University of Gothenburg. The analysis is part of the research project Swedish Public Opinion on the European Integration and was presented at the seminar The crisis and its effect on public opinion on the EU.
Note: The publication is in Swedish only.