Flash Eurobarometer 279 (Public Attitudes and Perceptions in the Euro Area, wave 8)

Attitude towards the EU and the euro.<br>Topics: assessment of the own country’s membership in the EU as a good thing; having the euro is a good thing for the own country and for Europe; changes in feeling European due to the euro; difficulty to distinguish and handle euro bank notes and specific coins; opinion about the number of existing coins and which euro coin denominations should be removed; conversion from the price in euro to the national currency when it comes to exceptional and common purchases; assessment of dual price displays as useful (only in SI, MT, CY); prices increased during the changeover period (only in SI, MT, CY); development of the inflation rate compared with the situation before the introduction of the euro; travels outside the own country at least once a year; impact of the euro introduction: easier traveling, easier price comparisons with other countries, reduction of cross-border banking charges; state of national budget in 2008: surplus, deficit, balance; awareness of the ´Stability and Growth Pact´; need for significant reforms to improve economy; successful reforms in other euro area countries facilitate reforms in the own country; governments need to save for the ageing populations; taxes should be increased to finance economic reforms; expenditures should be reduced to finance economic reforms; EU should play an active role in national reforms; importance of reforms in the areas: labour market, health system, pension system, social security system, market reforms, taxation, education systems, reforms in general, reforms in other areas; personally affected by the aforementioned reforms; expected impact of the reforms on national economy; inflation rate in the own country last year; expectations regarding the inflation rate in the current year; development of household income since last year and expectations for the current year.

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

Additionally coded was: respondent ID; interviewer ID; language of the interview; country; date of interview; time of the beginning of the interview; duration of the interview; type of phone line; call history; region; weighting factor.