EU CRISIS: Shock poll sees half of Europeans brand EU IRRELEVANT ‘we’ll see more Brexits'
A SURPRISE poll this week has sent shockwaves to EU chiefs after two-thirds of European citizens questioned said they do not believe life would be worse without the bloc - and half regard the EU as "irrelevant".

By OLI SMITH
PUBLISHED: 06:58, Mon, Oct 15, 2018 | UPDATED: 06:58, Mon, Oct 15, 2018

The EU faces an uncertain future after a Brussels-based think tank published a survey that showed a majority of European citizens were not enamoured with the European project.

According to the Friends of Europe think tank, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of EU citizens questioned do not think life would be any worse without the bloc.

Another 49 percent of Europeans view the EU as an "irrelevant" project, with grievances around the lack of transparency and anger at EU leaders "not focusing on the things people care about".

This runs counter to the message put out by the EU themselves, with the foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini claiming that the world would not survive without the bloc.

Earlier this week, she said: "Close your eyes and imagine for one moment the European Union disappeared from the global scene right now. The world would simply collapse."

The Friends of Europe think tank is partially funded by the EU, and its stated goal is to “create a more inclusive, sustainable and forward-looking Europe".

The survey took place across all member-states in September, with more than 11,000 people questioned.

The poll also pointed to a marked divide between EU member-states, with citizens in Central and Eastern Europe - which includes the Visegrad group - urging the EU to focus on economic growth.

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EU POLL
A survey that showed a majority of European citizens were dismayed with the European project (Image: GETTY)
If we do not act, we'll see more Brexits

We will see more Brexits

On the other side, people in Western and Northern Europe want the EU to be a force tasked with promoting values and democracy.

Brussels-based journalist Luc Rivet told RT that this spelled "the end of the love story of Europeans with Europe".

He said: "People want their borders back because they see that European borders don’t function after four years of problems."

The citizens below the age of 35 have a more favourable view of the EU bloc, with 41 percent claiming their life would be worse without the EU.

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Alexander Stubb, who is a frontrunner to become the next president of the European commission, commented on the results, describing an EU filled by "a loss of hope and despair".

He told a conference organised by the think tank: "If we do not act, we'll see more Brexits.

“I don’t want to see 2016 being seen as the beginning of the end of liberal democracy.

“Some of the fears of the double crisis of the euro and migration were genuine and have to be addressed.”

Ex-EU commissioner Pascal Lamy, a trustee of Friends of Europe, added: “Without change and reform, the EU will remain irrelevant to a majority of its citizens."

Almost half of Swedes and Danes would prefer Nordic union to EU: poll

A significant proportion of Swedes and Danes would prefer to be part of a 'Nordic union' between Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland rather than the European Union, a new poll shows.

The Sentio poll for left-wing Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen asked around 1,000 people in each of the three countries which kind of partnership they would prefer: the present situation with Sweden and Denmark in the EU (and Norway in the European Economic Area), or a new Nordic union with joint policy in many areas.

47 percent of Swedes and 45 percent of Danes polled said they would prefer the Nordic option, while only 32 percent of the former and 36 percent of the latter said they preferred the EU (the rest said they didn’t know).

Nakon Britanije tko sljedeći napušta Četvrti Reich? Višegrad, Danska/Švedska/Finska ili Italija?
Njemačka nikako da napravi imperiju. Šmrc.