EU citizens despondent about economy

A recent opinion poll indicates that more than half of the people in the European Union’s major member states have no hope that their countries’ economies can be revived.

According to a telephone poll conducted by Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 61 percent of the respondents have no hope that the EU will be able to emerge from the current economic crisis.

Only 31 percent were hopeful about the economic outlook for the European bloc while eight percent did not have any opinion on the matter.

In the poll, which was conducted from May 17 to 20, 5,000 European adults in Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands were interviewed. The results were released on June 8.

Many analysts have expressed concern over the fact that an economic recovery has failed to materialize in Europe.

In response, several EU countries have introduced austerity measures to reduce expenses, which has sparked large anti-government demonstrations, especially in Greece and Spain.