European Communities Study, 1971

A precursor to the Eurobarometer studies, this survey contained four major sections that measured: (1) the respondents' feelings of regional belonging, (2) their awareness of and ideas about agricultural problems, (3) their opinions of the Common Market and European unification, and (4) the amount and source of their knowledge in these areas. The section of the study dealing with regional sentiments probed the degree of regional nationalism felt by the respondents. The extent of past and anticipated future inter-regional mobility within each country and within Europe was also investigated. The section on agricultural problems explored existing problems, their causes, and the future of agriculture in the respondents' countries. The emphasis of the study was on the Common Market section. Respondents' opinions about the effects of the Market on agriculture, industry, and the region as a whole were elicited as were reactions to the possibility of expansion in order to include more countries. In addition, some questions examined attitudes toward the desirability and feasibility of the evolution of a United States of Europe. The last section of the study ascertained how well informed the respondents were about problems in agriculture and economic development in their regions, and it probed their knowledge of the Common Market. Their opinions concerning the adequacy of television coverage of these topics were also probed. Other questions investigated the respondents' opinions on appropriate government priorities as well as their estimates of the probability of a third world war or a serious economic crisis. Demographic information gathered includes occupation, union affiliations, income, education, region of residence, and religion. This study contains data gathered from a total of 9,277 respondents aged 16 or older in representative samples from five European countries, including 1,459 from Belgium, 2,095 from France, 1,997 from Germany, 2,017 from Italy, and 1,673 from the Netherlands.