Key facts
- Favorable views of the EU have increased across much of Europe since 2016.
- Median EU favorability across eight tracked countries rose from 49% in 2016 to 62% in 2026.
- In Germany, EU favorability rose from 50% in 2016 to 68% in 2026.
- In France, support increased from 38% in 2016 to 52% in 2026.
- In the UK, favorable views of the EU rose from 45% at the time of the referendum to 67% today.
- Eurosceptic parties like Germany's AfD and France's National Rally have increased their vote share.
A decade after the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union, polling data indicates a significant increase in favorable views towards the bloc among Europeans. New polling from Pew Research shows that median favorability towards the EU across eight tracked countries has risen from 49% in 2016 to 62% in 2026.
This trend is observed across major European nations. In Germany, favorable views of the EU increased from 50% in 2016 to 68% in 2026. France saw support climb from 38% to 52%, while the Netherlands experienced a rise from 51% to 63%. Notably, even within the UK, favorable views of the EU have grown from 45% at the time of the referendum to 67% today, despite the country's departure from the bloc.
The data suggests a shift from the political climate surrounding the Brexit vote, when calls for EU exit referendums were prominent in countries like France, the Netherlands, and Italy. Public confidence in EU institutions in Greece was also low due to the eurozone debt crisis.
Pew's figures indicate that support for the EU saw a sharp jump in the year immediately following the Brexit referendum, contradicting theories that Brexit would lead to the EU's unraveling. Favorability continued to climb after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, reaching record highs in many surveyed countries.
Despite the overall increase in EU support, eurosceptic parties have gained traction and vote share in several European nations. Germany's AfD saw its vote share increase from 12.6% in 2017 to 20.8% in 2025. In France, the National Rally and its allies secured approximately 33% of the vote in the first round of the 2024 legislative election. Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) became the largest party in the Netherlands in the 2023 general election.
Analysts note that many Eurosceptic parties have adapted their strategies, shifting from advocating for full withdrawal to focusing on internal EU reforms. For instance, France's National Rally now prioritizes restoring border controls and French law over explicit EU exit calls, while Geert Wilders has emphasized immigration and asylum issues over a Dutch "Nexit."
An exception is the AfD, which maintains withdrawal scenarios on its agenda. Researchers suggest that as Brexit failed to deliver on its promises, nationalist parties became less inclined towards anti-EU exit policies and more focused on internal reforms.
Generational and political divides persist in attitudes towards the EU. In Italy, 80% of adults under 35 view the EU favorably, compared to 56% of those over 50. Similar patterns are seen in other countries, with younger respondents generally more positive. Political affiliation also plays a role, with 86% of those on the political left in Poland reporting favorable views, versus 42% on the right.