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

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 32 Uniform taxation of multinational companies More control of the EU member states’ new national debts Uniform taxation of behaviour that harms the environment (e.g. emissions of CO 2 ) Protective clause that prevents EU member states from reducing social benefits Shared investments in the infrastructure of all EU member states (e.g. digital networks or rail systems) Debt relief for EU member states that have very high national debts Common minimum social standards in all EU member states (e.g. basic social security, unemployment insurance, pensions) Implementation of a minimum wage throughout the EU (level of minimum wage is dependent on the economic strength of each member state) 76% 14% 74% 15% 77% 9% 79% 10% 73% 11% 74% 14% 73% 14% 26% 63% Disapprove Approve How important do you think are the following issues and challenges for Germany? (not at all important, Rather not important, Important, Don’t know is not shown) Basic population: eligible voters in Germany, sample size: n = 2010 Source: YouGov 2018. Chart 8. Relevance of policy areas Chart 9. Priorities regarding political measures aimed at reducing social inequality in the European context Basic population: eligible voters in Germany, sample size: n = 2010 Source: YouGov 2018. Uniform taxation of multinational companies More control of the EU member states’ new national debts Uniform taxation of behaviour that harms the environment (e.g. emissions of CO 2 ) Protective clause that prevents EU member states from reducing social benefits Shared investments in the infrastructure of all EU mem- ber states (e.g. digital networks or rail systems) Debt relief for EU member states that have very high national debts Common minimum social standards in all EU member states (e.g. basic social security, unemployment insurance, pensions Implementation of a minimum wage throughout the EU (level of minimum wage is dependent on the economic stregth of each member state) 3% 3% 2 % 16% 12% 20% 48% 13% 12% 21% 45% 16% 14% 14% 44% 10% 11% 17% 37% 14% 16% 6% 35% 12% 12% 10% 33% 11% 14% 4% 29% Most important measure Second most important measure Third most important measure In your view, which of these measures are most important? Please select the three most important measures. Start with the most important one ( Don‘t know is not shown )