Eurobarometer 59.1 (Mar-Apr 2003)

This Eurobarometer survey queried respondents on standard Eurobarometer
measures, such as how satisfied they were with their present life,
whether they attempted to persuade others close to them to share their
views on subjects they held strong opinions about, whether they
discussed political matters, and what the European Union´s priorities
should be. Additional questions focused on the respondents´ knowledge
of and opinions about the European Union (EU), including sources of
information about the EU and whether their country had benefited from
being an EU member.

Topics: Respondents were also asked how informed they were about EU
enlargement, their preferred option for the immediate future of the EU
as it concerned the enlargement (i.e., whether the EU should include
all, some, or none of the countries wishing to join), and whether they
agreed or disagreed with statements regarding the EU enlargement (e.g.,
whether having more countries in the EU would mean more guaranteed
peace and security in Europe, whether the EU should financially help
future member countries before they join, and whether the EU should
reform the way its institutions work before welcoming new members). In
addition to the selected standard trend variables (which included
additional questions about the perception of and attitudes toward the
European Parliament, the European Convention, and the United States of
America), the survey also elicited respondents´ opinions about the euro
and its introduction as the common European currency. Respondents were
asked a series of questions about dual pricing (prices in both the euro
and their own respective national currency), its usefulness and
necessity, whether they felt handling eight coins was complicated, the
usefulness of 1- and 2-cent coins, and whether some of the coins should
be replaced by notes. General attitudes regarding the euro replacing
their national currency and whether the euro made the respondent feel
more European were also assessed. Finally, respondents were asked
questions about parental leave, more specifically about the attitudes
of men toward taking time off from the workforce for parental leave.
Questions addressed the main reasons that would encourage or discourage
fathers from taking parental leave.

Demography: Gender, age, marital status, occupation, and household
income.