Poll Archive

The EU / European Constitution

Fieldwork: May 9th 2003 - May 11th 2003

published by The Sun

Click here to download detailed results 1.1m

The EU and the European Constitution

How would you vote in a referendum now on whether Britain should stay in, or leave the EU?

Stay in	54%
Leave	31%
Wouldn't vote	9%
Don't know	6%

A European Constitution is being drafted for discussion and agreement this year. How much have you heard about it?

A lot	4%
A bit	16%
Hardly anything	42%
Absolutely nothing	39%

How would you vote in a referendum now on whether Britain should join the European single currency?

Yes - join	54%
No - not join	31%
Don't know	9%

Which of the following statements do you most agree with about the principle of having a European Constitution?

Europe should have a constitution to define what the EU can & can't do, and end confusion about its powers	48%
Europe shouldn't have a constitution because only countries have constitutions and the EU isn't a country	44%
Don't know	8%

Would you support or oppose a European Constitution if it meant the EU having more control over national issues?

Support	33%
Oppose	60%
Don't know	7%

If the European Constitution is going to give extra powers to the EU, do you think there should be a referendum first on whether or not Britain should sign up to it?

Yes	84%
No	12%
Don't know	4%

If there was a referendum now on whether or not Britain should sign up to a European Constitution giving extra powers to the EU, how would you vote?

Yes	31%
No	57%
Don't know	12%

Thinking about the process by which the EU decides on laws and policies that will apply to all member countries, do you think that…

More things should be decided by majority voting so it is easier for the EU to get agreement on its proposals	24%
Individual countries should have the right to block EU proposals that they think are not in their national interest	71%
Don't know	4%

Do you agree of disagree with the following things that are being considered for inclusion in the European Constitution

	Agree	Disagree	Don't know
Change the name of the EU to 'United States of Europe'	19%	77%	4%
Establish a new role of President to speak for all of Europe on foreign and defence policy	30%	66%	3%
Establish a new European Minister for Foreign Affairs	35%	61%	4%
Establish a Europe-wide policy on letting asylum-seekers enter Europe	51%	45%	4%
Remove all frontier controls within the EU, so there would be no checks when travelling from one EU country to another	31%	67%	1%
Make everyone in every member country legally a 'Citizen of the EU' so everyone has dual nationality	45%	50%	5%

Does the conduct of France and Germany during the recent war with Iraq make you more or less sympathetic to the EU having more control over defence policy?

More sympathetic	15%
Less sympathetic	39%
No difference	41%
Don't know	5%
NET less sympathetic	24%

Does the conduct of France and Germany during the recent war with Iraq make you more or less sympathetic to Britain joining the Euro?

More sympathetic	14%
Less sympathetic	36%
No difference	46%
Don't know	4%
NET less sympathetic	22%

Does the conduct of France and Germany during the recent war with Iraq make you more or less sympathetic to the EU having extra power and control over more areas of policy?

More sympathetic	15%
Less sympathetic	43%
No difference	38%
Don't know	4%
NET less sympathetic	28%

How much do you trust or distrust the following countries?

	Trust		Distrust
	A Lot	A bit	A Lot	A bit
France	8%	24%	38%	25%
Germany	9%	32%	26%	27%
Russia	5%	32%	24%	30%
Italy	11%	43%	12%	23%
Spain	20%	47%	8%	16%
America	26%	30%	24%	15%

How much do you trust or distrust the following people? If you have never heard of them please say.

	Trust		Distrust		Never heard of
	A Lot	A Bit	A Lot	A bit
Jacques Chirac	4%	19%	40%	24%	9%
Gerhard Schroeder	5%	21%	16%	20%	33%
Romano Prodi	3%	13%	7%	10%	63%
Giscard D'Estaing	3%	12%	15%	13%	52%

How much do you think Britain has in common with the following countries?

	A great deal	A certain amount	Not much	Hardly anything	Nothing
France	7%	45%	27%	12%	8%
Germany	8%	48%	26%	9%	7%
Russia	1%	24%	37%	16%	17%
Italy	5%	41%	34%	10%	7%
Spain	9%	48%	27%	8%	6%
America	44%	39%	8%	3%	4%

If Britain does sign up to a European Constitution giving extra powers to the EU, what difference do you think it would make to life in Britain?

Make life in Britain better	17%
Make life in Britain worse	38%
Not make much difference	39%
Don't know	6%

If defence policy was decided by a majority vote of EU members, do you think that Britain would be more secure or less secure?

More secure	34%
Less secure	56%
Don't know	10%

Some people say Tony Blair supports the idea of a European President because he'd like the job himself. Do you think this is…

True	48%
Not true	40%
Don't know	11%

If a European Constitution is adopted that gives more powers to the EU over things like defence, foreign policy, asylum seekers etc, should Britain…

Sign up to the European Constitution if it is a condition of Britain staying in the EU	30%
Be willing to consider leaving the EU if that is the only way to avoid signing up to a European Constitution	61%
Don't know	9%

Who should take the key decisions on the following, the government or the EU?

SETTING TAX RATES
British Government	86%
EU	12%

SETTING SPENDING LEVELS
British Government	91%
EU	8%

DECIDING WHAT WE CAN AFFORD TO BORROW
British Government	79%
EU	18%

SENTENCING POLICY FOR CONVICTED CRIMINALS
British Government	71%
EU	26%

SETTING MORTGAGE RATES
British Government	83%
EU	13%

ASYLUM & IMMIGRATION POLICY
British Government	63%
EU	35%

DEFENCE POLICY
British Government	73%
EU	25%

FOREIGN POLICY
British Government	62%
EU	35%

Populus interviewed a random sample of 1005 adults aged 18+ by telephone between 9th May 2003 and 11th May 2003. Interviews were conducted across England and the results have been weighted to be representative of all English adults. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. For a full description of the methods we use, please click here.

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