„Mit den britischen Austrittsverhandlungen betritt die EU komplettes Neuland. Vor allem für London beginnt ein Hürdenlauf gegen die Zeit. Parallel zu den Brexit-Verhandlungen wird die EU in Sachen Weiterentwicklung Nägel mit Köpfen machen müssen. Die Erwartungen sind klar: weniger institutionelle Spitzfindigkeiten, dafür eine handlungsfähige Union mit konkreten Beschlüssen, die für die Menschen einen erkennbaren Unterschied machen“, analysiert Paul Schmidt, Generalsekretär der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Europapolitik (ÖGfE).
In einer aktuellen ÖGfE-Umfrage charakterisieren fast drei Viertel (73 Prozent) die EU als „schwach“ (27 Prozent: „stark“), 51 Prozent bezeichnen sie als „unsicher“ (49 Prozent: „sicher“), 53 Prozent empfinden sie als „fern“ (47 Prozent „nahe“). Was die Zukunft der EU betrifft, so zeigen sich 47 Prozent „eher pessimistisch“ und 38 Prozent „eher optimistisch“ (15 Prozent „weiß nicht/Keine Angabe“).
„Fünf unterschiedliche Reformszenarien zur Zukunft Europas stehen zur Diskussion. Jetzt wäre es an der Zeit, eine breit angelegte, ehrliche Richtungsdebatte über europapolitische Prioritäten zu führen. Das öffentliche Interesse an den Entwicklungen in Europa wäre jedenfalls vorhanden. Und ungeachtet der vielfältigen Kritik, wird die Union in Kernbereichen auch durchaus positiv bewertet.“
65 Prozent sehen die EU als „friedenstiftend“ (35 Prozent: „konfliktfördernd“), 62 Prozent bezeichnen sie als „sozial“ (38 Prozent: „unsozial“) und 57 Prozent als „demokratisch“ (43 Prozent: „undemokratisch“), 53 Prozent verbinden mit ihr den Begriff „Freiheit“ (47 Prozent „Zwang“).
„Die EU muss jedenfalls flexibler werden, um aktuelle Probleme rasch lösen zu können. Verschiedene Integrationsgeschwindigkeiten könnten helfen, einzelne Blockaden zu überwinden“, hält Schmidt fest. „Die Brexit-Entscheidung ist ein britisches Drama. Die EU-27 aber sollte die kommenden Monate für einen Neustart nutzen, damit aus einer Erfolgsgeschichte letztlich keine Tragödie wird“.
Die Umfrage wurde von der Sozialwissenschaftlichen Studiengesellschaft vom 23. Februar bis 1. März 2017 im Auftrag der ÖGfE durchgeführt. Befragt wurden österreichweit 574 Personen per Telefon (repräsentativ für die österreichische Bevölkerung ab 16 Jahre/Gewichtung nach Geschlecht, Alter und Bildung). Maximale Schwankungsbreite ca. +/- 4,0 Prozent. Differenz auf 100 Prozent aufgrund gerundeter Werte.
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