Greeks skeptical about benefits, prospects of EU

As the European Union’s cohesion faces being sorely test by the upcoming Brexit negotiations and other challenges, Greeks appear increasingly skeptical about the benefits and prospects of the EU, according to a new study by London-based international policy institute Chatham House and research company Kantar.

More than seven in 10 (74 percent) Greeks are worried about the outlook for the EU, according to the survey which was carried out on a sample of 1,000 people in 10 European countries: Britain, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary and Poland.

The Greek figure was almost double the research average of 38 percent. Greeks were also significantly more downbeat than their counterparts, with 60 percent declaring themselves to be pessimistic compared to a research average of 40 percent.

An even larger proportion of Greeks, 80 percent, said they believed more members of the bloc would follow Britain’s lead and decide to break away from the Union in the next 10 years.

Predictably, following seven years of belt-tightening imposed by foreign creditors, a significant proportion of Greeks (67 percent) said that austerity was the EU’s biggest failure.

Meanwhile seven in 10 (73 percent) of Greeks believe that the decision of Britain to leave the EU will weaken the Union.