Two-thirds of Europeans favor tighter border control in new poll

by WorldTribune Staff, March 30, 2018

A majority of residents in all European countries believe illegal immigration is a “serious problem,” a survey found.

In the poll, conducted by the Szazadveg Foundation’s Project 28, two-thirds of respondents said Europe should better protect its borders. The poll sampled residents from all 28 European countries.

In the survey, 73 percent of Europeans believe managing immigration will pose a ‘huge financial burden’. / Getty Images

While the poll found that 78 percent of all Europeans believe illegal immigration is a problem, it also found that more citizens in every European country say it is a “serious problem” than those who believe it is not a problem or not a very serious problem.

The poll also found 70 percent of respondents believe the growing Muslim presence in Europe is a problem, while just 8 percent say it is no threat at all.

A majority in the poll believe that the influx of immigrants into their countries will increase both the crime rate and the threat of terrorism. A majority of citizens (57 percent) said that the influx of immigrants will change the culture of their countries.

What is “most striking” about the survey is that “there is such extraordinary unanimity around the question of immigration,” wrote the Spectator’s Douglas Murray on March 24.

“While numerous political divides exist within each of the 28 member states, and considerable differences exist between them, only on the matters of migration, borders and security can this not be said,” Murray wrote.

The survey also found that 73 percent of Europeans believe managing immigration will pose a “huge financial burden” on receiving countries. Only 17 percent believe that the cost of handling immigration with not be “huge.”

Most of Europe is dissatisfied with Brussels’ handling of the immigration crisis, the study found.

Despite widely reported criticism of the immigration policies of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a majority of EU citizens believe that these nations have handled the immigration crisis better than Brussels. Only 24 percent believe that Brussels has done a better job than Central and Eastern European nations in handling the crisis.


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