Plenary Insights – December 2022 

Each plenary session, DG COMM provides relevant public opinion data on key topics on the agenda:

• Outcome of the COP27: A large majority of Europeans declares that climate change is something that frightens them and more than eight in ten think it is important to make our continent the world’s first climate neutral one by 2050, finds the EB Key Challenges of our Times – The EU in 2022 survey.
• Renewable energy, energy efficiency: According to the same survey, four in ten citizens (40%) believe their home needs an energy-efficient renovation, but the majority states that making their home more energy efficient is too expensive, and they cannot afford it, according to the survey Fairness perceptions of the green transition.
• Defending Democracy from foreign interference: 70% Europeans are in favour of a common foreign policy of the Member States of the EU, and 80% agree that “the EU’s voice counts in the world”. Most EU Member States have seen an increase in the proportion that agree that “the EU’s voice counts in the world”, according to EB Key Challenges of our Times – The EU in 2022.
• Digital divide - the social differences created by digitalisation: there are clearly differences in the media usage between socio-demographic groups - younger respondents are much more likely to use social media platform and blogs than the older respondents (46% of 15-24 year-olds vs 15% of 55+ year-olds), according to the “Media & News Survey 2022”; In the survey “Key Challenges of our Times-The EU in 2022”, younger respondents aged 15-24 are more likely to think the EU should prioritise working on the digital transformation of the economy and of society in the EU.