Eurobarometer 47.1 (Mar-Apr 1997)

Attitude to the EU. Questions on further education. Attitude to
minorities in the country. Racism. Family planning and occupation.

Topics: 1. EU questions: nationality (multiple response possible);
interest in politics; personal opinion leadership; postmaterialism;
extent of obtaining news from radio, television and newspapers;
self-classification of extent to which informed about the government of
the country as well as about the EU; interest in information about the
EU; preferred type of information and media; availability of new
information technologies; attitude to membership of the country in the
EU and advantageousness of membership for one´s own country; national
citizen or European citizen; countries favored to join the EU; attitude
to Switzerland and image of this country (scale); attitude to the EURO,
a common European security and foreign policy and active and passive
municipal right of EU foreigners to vote; attitude to European
responsibility for matters that cannot be solved at national level;
necessity of a majority in the European Parliament for the president
and the members of the European Commission; attitude to equal rights
for European Parliament and council of ministers; attitude to increased
education of schoolchildren by European institutions; attitude to a
subsidy for European film and television productions; preferred
division of tasks between EU and nation-state in selected political
areas.

2. Further education: attitude to life-long learning and reasons
for further education even after school; preferred further education
method; most important reasons against personal further education;
judgement on improvement of further education in personal as well as
professional life; personal participation in further education measures
in the last 12 months; desire for increased effort of the EU in further
education measures; necessity of continual further education; most
important sources of information for further education; attitude to the
information society and new information technologies (scale); current
contentment with life as well as expected and previous contentment with
life five years ago; satisfaction with democracy; personal unemployment
and unemployment experience in family and circle of friends.

3. Minorities: national pride; feeling of political effectiveness or
powerlessness; perceived conflict between poor and rich; most important
political problems; most important national political goals; attitude
to democracy; importance of human rights (scale); belonging to a
minority; origin of parents or grandparents from another culture,
religion, race or nationality; acceptance of ethnic, religious and
cultural minorities (scale); assessment of the proportion minorities in
the country; personal friends from the area of minorities; most
important measures to improve relations with people of another race,
religion and culture in one´s country; attitude to assimilation and
integration of minorities (scale); attitude to immigrants from non-EU
countries (scale); attitude to the right to asylum and to having
children and family members come later; advantages for the country from
the presence of immigrants from non-EU countries; preferred measures of
EU institutions against racism; judgement on the success of the
´European year against racism 1997´ (scale); perceived disturbances
from people of another race, religion or culture; social proximity to
minority groups (Bogardus scale); acceptance of personal relations and
willingness to help regarding minorities; contacts in neighborhood and
at work with minorities; prejudices regarding minorities (scale);
concession of civil rights and liberties, democratic rights and civil
rights to such minorities; self-classification of racism (scale).
Preferred accomodation opportunities for older persons living alone;
individual or government responsibility for seniors; total number of
children; ideal age for women at first as well as last child; full-time
or part-time employment; living separately or living together with a
partner; employment situation of partner; ideas about an ideal division
of labor between occupation and raising children for respondent as well
as for partner; preferred governmental measures to improve the
situation of families with children. Self-assessment on a left-right
continuum. In the Netherlands the following additional questions were
posed: extent to which informed about the Dutch presidency in the
council of ministers and significance of this presidency. The following
additional question was posed to persons over 55 years old: most
important reasons for further education in retirement age.

Also encoded were: date of interview; time of start of interview; length of
interview; number of persons present during interview; willingness of
respondent to cooperate; possession of a telephone.