The European Union’s security landscape has changed considerably in the recent years. At the same time, debate about the EU’s role in international politics and European security has intensified, and the EU has made progress in various security and defense policy domains. In member states, expectations towards the EU’s contribution to security are growing stronger among governments and the public alike.
This report evaluates public attitudes and values concerning the EU’s agency in field of security and defence policy. By applying the concept of security community, it investigates public opinion and attitudes
on the EU as a political community and a security provider.
The main conclusion of the report is that, heretofore, security and defence policy issues have been largely of secondary interest to EU citizens. However, recently, terrorism and migration have grown into EU-wide concerns, and, in the eyes of the public, tackling the challenges on the EU level has become a genuine priority. As a security community, the EU is diverse, but among the public there exists a certain shared sense of community, on which it is possible to build, for example, mutual solidarity regarding security concerns.
