Migration has dominated European politics since the 2015 migrant crisis. But ahead of May's EU parliamentary elections, an ECFR study has shown that many Europeans are more concerned about emigration than immigration.
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Six countries in southern and eastern Europe are more concerned about emigration than they are about immigration, according to a new European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR) survey published by The Guardian newspaper on Monday.
Survey respondents in Romania, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Italy and Spain said they were more worried about migration out of their respective countries than migration into them. All six countries have seen their population figures either flatten out or decrease sharply — Romania's population has decreased by 10 percent over the past decade.
In three of those countries — Spain, Italy and Greece — a majority of respondents said that they would support emigration controls.
However, in northern and western countries, concerns over immigration trumped fears over emigration. In the survey as a whole, 20 percent said emigration was a concern and 32 percent said immigration was.
Since the European migrant crisis of 2015, when member states of the European Union received 1.2 million first-time asylum applications, migration has dropped by more than 90 percent, according to the United Nations Council for Human Rights.
Issues in EU election
The survey, conducted by UK-based analytics firm YouGov, polled almost 50,000 people from 14 countries to establish the main issues entering May's elections for the European Parliament. The 14 nations polled are set to occupy 80 percent of seats in the new Parliament.
Migration was not the only issue people are worried about, although Hungarian President Viktor Orban and Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini have sought to put migration center stage ahead of the May vote. The survey found that corruption, nationalism, terrorism and climate change are also at the top of people's minds.
In regards to climate change, a majority of respondents believe the environment should take priority, even if it came at the expense of economic growth.
The EU's parliamentary vote is the second-largest electoral contest in the world, behind only India's elections. A total of 709 seats in the European Parliament will be up for grabs when voters in the EU's 27 member states (28 if the United Kingdom doesn't leave the bloc before the vote) head to the polls on May 23-26.
Candidates for European Commission president
Germany's Manfred Weber, the conservative candidate, is considered the front-runner in the race to lead the European Commission. DW takes a closer look at him, and his main rivals.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Seco
Manfred Weber (EPP)
The center-right European People's Party (EPP) — the largest faction in the European Parliament — has picked Manfred Weber, its German parliamentary party leader. He has the backing of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Though considered the front-runner, Weber is little known on the international stage, and his language skills are considered poor.
Image: Reuters/V. Kessler
Frans Timmermans (S&D)
Frans Timmermans, the European Commission's first vice president, will lead the campaign for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D). Weber's main rival promises to bring the bloc closer to ordinary voters at a time when Britain's looming exit is one factor behind the nationalist movements across the EU.
Image: Reuters/F.Lenoir
Margrethe Vestager (ALDE)
Margrethe Vestager, 51, is one of seven lead candidates for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. As the current EU commissioner for competition, the Danish MEP has taken on corporations like Apple, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet. It's also been said that she served as the inspiration for the main character in <i>Borgen</i>, a Danish series where a woman becomes Denmark's first female leader.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
Jan Zahradil (ECR)
The third-largest group in the EU Parliament, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), has just one candidate: Jan Zahradil, chairman of the Czech ECR delegation. Zahradil, 65, is affectionately known as "Forrest Gump" for cycling from Prague to Strasbourg for a session of the European Parliament and for once running 1,300 kilometers (about 800 miles) across the Czech Republic for charity.
Image: imago/Belga
Ska Keller (Greens/EFA)
The Greens/EFA is the seventh largest group in European Parliament, so the German is a long shot to become European Commission president. The Greens have proposed a job share, with two candidates serving for two-and-a-half years each. The most favorite to join Keller is Dutch lawmaker Bas Eickhout.
Image: European Green Party
Violeta Tomic and Nico Cue (GUE/NGL)
The EU's left-wing groups will be headed by Spanish trade unionist Nico Cue and Violeta Tomic (at left). Tomic is a deputy in Slovenia's National Assembly, best known as a TV presenter and actress. She entered into politics in 2014 and has been an advocate for LGBT rights and stronger citizens' rights in Europe. Cue grew up in Belgium after his family was forced to flee Franco's Soain.
