The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

MORE JUST. MORE SOCIAL. LESS UNEQUAL. WHAT GERMANS EXPECT FROM EUROPE 31 social standards in all EU member states ( Chart 8 ). Support for a minimum wage throughout the EU (74 percent) as well as for a protective clause that prevents EU member states from re- ducing social benefits (73 percent) is compara- bly high. Joint efforts to regulate the economy like uniform taxation of multinational compa- nies (77 percent) are highly supported. However, the findings show that support for political measures is not unconditional. High support for measures aimed at controlling EU member states fiscally indicates that accountability, transparency, and control are necessary con- straints for the acceptance of specific measures. If citizens are asked to prioritize among dif- ferent measures aimed at reducing social ine- quality in the European context, they show clear- cut preferences for socio-political measures. Almost half of the respondents (48 percent) think that shared minimum social standards in all EU member states is one of the three most important measures. One out of five (20 per- cent) even thinks these measures are of the highest priority ( Chart 9 ). A minimum wage throughout the EU and uniform taxation of multinational companies are ranked second and third. Thirty-seven percent of respondents con- sider more control of the EU member states’ new national debts as one of the three most important measures. This measure is more po- larizing than other ones. While one out of six (17 percent) considers greater fiscal control as the most important measure, another 63 per- cent do not consider this to be one of the three most important measures. Chart 7. Attribution of responsibility by policy areas Thinking about the following areas, do you think the EU should be responsible for decisions in these areas or should the national states (i.e. each EU member state by its own) be responsible? (Don‘t know is not shown) 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 Housing and rent Protection against crime and terror Environment and climate protection Immigration and refugees Energy Umemployment Internet and digitization Integration of immigrants National debts and taxes Future of the EU Traffic and mobility Economic growth Foreign affairs and defence policy Pensions and pension planning Health care Education 3 6% 6% 24% 21% 35% 7% 7% 27% 20% 31% 6% 7% 27% 20% 32% 4% 5% 22% 22% 39% 19% 18% 33% 10% 12% 24% 21% 30% 8% 8% 21% 17% 27% 9% 18% 15% 17% 37% 10% 12% 4% 7% 31% 23% 27% 16% 15% 28% 11% 22% 32% 17% 29% 6%7% 8% 14% 37% 15% 17% 9% 12% 36% 16% 18% 8% 9% 28% 17% 29% 7% 10% 33% 20% 22% 20% 18% 31% 10% 12% Rank 1 2 3 4 5 Only the EU Relevance of policy area Only the national states Basic population: eligible voters in Germany, sample size: n = 2010 Source: YouGov 2018.