Personal and financial situation of citizens

• Author: Maillard, Robin; Zalc, Julien
• Pages: 13-32

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PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL SITUATION OF CITIZENS

The rst section of the report examines the impact of the pandemic crisis on the personal situation of EU citi-

zens. Specically, it assesses general attitudes towards restriction measures that have been introduced, and then

examines the impact of the pandemic on respondents’ personal income and the type of nancial and economic

diculties that they have experienced. It also examines the current emotional status of respondents.

Arbitration health vs. economy

Respondents were asked to position themselves on a scale between two statements regarding the consequences

of the restriction measures in their country. “1” means that the health benets are greater than the economic

damage, and “6” that the economic damage is greater than the health benets, the remaining numbers indicating

something in between these two positions.

Overall, around half of respondents (49%) say that the economic damage of restriction measures in their country

is greater than the health benets (score of between 4 and 6). This compares with 45% of respondents who feel

that the health benets are greater than the economic damage (score between 1 and 3). This a change from the

previous waves of the survey. For the rst time, respondents are more likely to think that the economic damage is

greater than the health benets (+6 pp compared with wave 2), rather than that the health benets outweigh the

economic damage (-7 pp).

CHAPTER I

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The ndings for this question were broadly stable between wave 1 (April/May) and wave 2 (June), but there has

been a notable change at wave 3 (September/October). The majority view is now that the economic damage of

the restriction measures is greater than the health benets.

There is considerable variation between countries in public opinion about restriction measures. At one extreme,

around two-thirds of respondents in Bulgaria (69%), Hungary (67%), Slovenia (66%), Czechia (64%) and Poland

(63%) feel that the economic damage is greater than the health benets (giving a score of between 4 and 6). By

contrast, in six countries more than half of respondents think that the health benets are greater than the eco-

nomic damage (score of between 1 and 3): Malta (70%), Romania (59%), Ireland (58%), France (57%), Luxembourg

(54%) and Finland (51%).