Europeans now consider reduced immigration more important than “climate”

Published 20 May 2024 at 17.11

EU. A study from the Danish think tank Alliance of Democracies shows that reduced immigration is becoming an increasingly important issue for many Europeans. At the same time, interest in prioritizing “the climate” is decreasing.

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According to this year's survey, one in four respondents believes that the government should prioritize reduced immigration – which according to Deutsche Welle is an increase from one in five two years ago.

At the same time, interest in climate issues is decreasing. In 2024, the migration issue is for the first time more important than the climate for Europeans, according to the report.

In Germany this trend is particularly clear. Almost half of the Germans surveyed believe that reducing immigration should be a priority. That is almost twice as many as those who think that climate change should be a priority.

About half of people around the world, in both democratic and non-democratic countries, according to the survey, believe that their government only acts in a small group of people's interests. Germany is seeing a marked increase in that area as well.

“Over the past four years, this perception has been highest in Latin America, lowest in Asia, and it has steadily increased in Europe since 2020 – especially in Germany,” says the report.

Dissatisfaction with the state of democracy is described as “very widespread in the US, Europe and in other countries with a long democratic tradition”.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former NATO head and Danish prime minister and now chairman of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, describes the figures as “a wake-up call for all democratic governments”.

– Defending democracy means promoting freedom around the world, but it also means you listen to the voters' concerns at home, says Rasmussen.