Eurobarometer 46.0: Personal Health, Energy, Development Aid, and the Common European Currency, October-November 1996

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This round of Eurobarometer surveys queried respondents on standard Eurobarometer measures such as public awareness of and attitudes toward the European Union (EU), and also focused on personal health issues, the Common European Currency, energy questions, development aid, and the rights of EU citizens. Respondents were asked if they thought exposure to the sun was good or bad for their health, how best to protect themselves from the sun, what type of skin, eye, and hair color they had, and what information they had received about the "Europe Against Cancer" campaign. In regard to the Common European Currency, they provided their attitudes toward having one currency for all member states, and commented on how well-informed they were about this issue, if they knew about the conditions that member countries must meet in order to join the European Economic and Monetary Union, if their own country would be able to meet the requirements and what the consequences would be if it did not, when euro coins and notes might be introduced, how the introduction of the single currency should proceed, and how it would affect economic policies and transactions. Questions about energy use and consumption covered problems that could affect the environment, if respondents had made attempts to conserve energy use in recent years and how they might do so in the future, how effective public bodies were in saving energy, and whether energy investment decisions should be left to market forces or to public bodies. Views regarding the availability and cost of energy resources over the next ten years, the importance of nuclear energy, the role of taxes in energy consumption, and whether public or private transportation should be favored in traffic planning decisions were also elicited. A battery of questions about developing countries focused on whether respondents thought there was a need to help poorer countries to develop, whether their own governments provided development aid, whether the European Commission provided such aid and if so, how much, and whether such aid should be increased or decreased. Other questions probed for opinions on whether developing countries used aid money to purchase goods from the EU, whether the Community's aid should be made better known, and how profitable it was to invest in developing countries. Respondents were also asked if they thought Europe, the United States, or Japan was best placed to help poor people, where Europe's exports were sent, if development aid helped to solve certain social and economic problems, and if they felt they received accurate accounts about developing countries from newspapers and television news programs. A few questions also focused on perceptions of the rights of citizens of the EU and where information could be located about such rights. Citizens from Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom were asked about their attitudes toward other EU countries, which countries should join the Monetary Union, how important the introduction of the single currency by January 1, 1999, was, and how likely it was that the deadline would be met. Demographic items included age, gender, marital status, household size, monthly income, education, size of community, region, and occupation.