‘Justice’ for Ukraine overshadowed by cost of living concerns, polling shows: Survey across 10 European countries and UK shows respondents favouring an end to the conflict rather than holding Russia accountable.

18 comments

  1. Europe’s unity over the war in Ukraine is at risk as public attention increasingly shifts from the battlefield to cost of living concerns, [polling across 10 European countries](https://ecfr.eu/publication/peace-versus-justice-the-coming-european-split-over-the-war-in-ukraine/) suggests, with the divide deepening between voters who want a swift end to the conflict and those who want Russia punished.

    The survey in nine EU member states – Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden – plus the UK found support for Ukraine remained high, but that preoccupations have shifted to the conflict’s wider impacts.

    >Europeans had surprised Putin – and themselves – by their unity so far, but the big stresses are coming now,

    said Mark Leonard, a co-author of a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) on changing attitudes to Russia’s invasion.

    Governments’ ability to retain public support for potentially harmful policies would be crucial, Leonard said, warning that the gulf between the “peace” and “justice” camps could be “as damaging as that between creditors and debtors during the euro crisis”.

    The survey found that despite strong support across Europe for Ukraine’s bid to join the EU and the west’s policy of severing ties with Moscow, many voters in Europe want the war to end as soon as possible – even if that means Ukraine losing territory.

  2. The polling, carried out between 28 April and 11 May, found near-universal support for Ukraine, with 73% of respondents across the 10 countries blaming Russia for the war.

    More than 80% in Poland, Sweden, the UK (83%) and Finland (90%) said they held Russia responsible, along with strong majorities in Italy (56%), France (62%) and Germany (66%), while majorities or pluralities also saw Russia as the main block to peace.

    There was strong support for cutting links with Russia. A majority across the 10 countries felt governments should sever economic and cultural relations with Moscow, with most – rising to 71% in Poland – also favouring an end to diplomatic ties.

    Similarly, 58% across the 10 countries – rising to 77% in Finland – wanted the EU to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, even at the expense of the bloc’s climate goals, suggesting public support for a new round of EU sanctions, including on oil.

  4. The question about what the major concern is is a bit flawed, as the options are only “economic woes” vs “Russia will attack my country”.

  6. Europe has been choosing money over decency for MANY YEARS, at least at the matter of Russia. Russian democracy was slowly simmering (reference to frogs), the more knowledgeable frogs tried to warn the rest, but they were simply destroyed, while foreign money continued to drip into Putin’s account. So we have reached the boiling point, only it’s too late, the frogs have boiled and the regime has begun to eat boars.

  7. I’ve been getting very frustrated with the guardian. They don’t have to focus on the question(s) that make it sound like people don’t want Russia held accountable. It was an editorial choice and I don’t think media framing of this kind helps the situation any more than say the daily mail or the New York post. Are they reducing themselves to sensationalism of another kind?

  8. That was always to be expected.

    “The struggles I am experiencing” will always be more important to each individual than “The struggles someone else is experiencing”.

  9. It’s embarrassing that Europeans can’t sell the idea of keeping their own end of the street clean to the great unwashed.

  12. Europe in a nutshell.

    Fully withdrawing from Europe/NATO is the ONLY correct decision.

    Europe/Europeans/EU are literally the enemies of America/Americans.

  14. I know that everyone has economic problems and that they are taking care of their wallet more and more. but to lovers of the world at any cost, I love saying such things, look now Putin is consolidating territories equal to two Czech Republics, if you were offered to give him the Czech Republic and a couple of European countries so that he would calm down (and would you know that he would return in a couple of years)? No? and what does this other mean? it’s not different, it’s what you propose to give us such a territory so that Putin stops killing now and then returns again, because that’s what we were forced to do 8 years ago. This is a war not only for the territory, but also for Izhets, if we lose, then People like Putin can continue to do whatever they want, they can calmly go to Lithuania and they will do little for him, because then they will shout that it is too stupid to use nuclear weapons for the sake of such a small country.

  16. >Crucially, views on the EU’s policy response to the invasion varied depending on which camp respondents were in, with justice voters backing the severance of economic, diplomatic and cultural ties, and **peace voters supporting only the first of these**.

    So the difference was “do we (respondents) severe all the ties or only economic ones. With “peace voters” supporting only severing economic ties.

  17. So maybe our politicians – on an EU level – should take this seriously. We’re going to need serious economic assistance for HOUSEHOLDS in dealing with this crisis. Covid showed us our governments, when pressured and pulled by their fucking hair, can and will support not just companies, but individuals too.

    We can support Ukraine and support our own people. If national governments are unwilling, the EU should finally step in and take the social welfare pillar on its shoulders.

  18. No shit. It’s not like we didn’t tell you this was going to happen. Yes, it’s nice and dandy to punish the aggressor, but my landlord doesn’t accept thoughts and prayers for Ukraine as means of payment, nor does the general store close to my apartment block.

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