The ongoing economic crisis should not impede the European Union’s relief efforts, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.
The survey took place February to March 2012 and involved face-to-face interviews with 26,751 respondents from 27 EU member states.
Of the respondents to the Special Eurobarometer 384 on Humanitarian Aid, a great majority believed it is important for the European Union to fund humanitarian aid (88 percent) and that the bloc must continue doing so despite the economic crisis (84 percent).
The Eurobarometer also indicates strong backing for coordinated approach to EU humanitarian aid, with more than two-thirds of respondents considering humanitarian aid rendered by the bloc as more efficient than when provided by member states separately.
A survey on development cooperation conducted in 2011 had a similar result: Two-thirds of EU citizens supported increasing aid to at least 0.7 percent of the gross domestic product by 2015.
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