Flash Eurobarometer 161 (European Elections / Pre-elections)

Attitudes towards the European Parliament election in 2004.<br>Topics: awareness of the date of the next European Parliament elections in the own country; likelihood to vote in the next European Parliament elections; importance of each of the following criteria with regard to own voting decision: personality of candidates, position of candidates on national issues, position of parties on national issues, position of candidates on European issues, position of parties on European issues, new challenges of the EU, personal interest in the EU, personal level of information on the EU, personal interest in politics in general, role of the European Parliament; reasons for not voting; preferred issues to be emphasized in the electoral campaign for the next European Parliament elections; attitude towards the following statements: necessary information available before the European Parliament election, trust in European institutions, feeling of being a citizen of the EU, recognition of citizen’s interests by the European Parliament, EU membership of the own country is a good thing, feeling of attachment towards Europe, personal importance of the results of last European Parliament election with regard to political parties, personal importance of the results of last European Parliament election with regard to particular candidates, adequate representation of personal interest by MEPs; exposure to selected situations in the electoral campaign: home visits of candidates or their representatives, phone calls, leaflets in mailbox, contact on the street, advertisements, newspaper reports, TV or radio reports, discussions with family or friends, participation in meetings, search on the internet; most frequently used newspapers; knowledge of the number of member states; voting decision in the last national election.

Demography: sex; age; age at end of education; occupation; professional position; type of community.

Additionally coded was: wave; country; weighting factor.