The EU was seen overall as more capable of dealing with the crisis than national governments; choosing between five options, 17% of respondents preferred the EU to deal with the crisis against 14% who preferred their national government to do so. But even more felt that the G8 was the most effective forum (25%). National variations were wide on this issue, however, with the EU considered least capable by respondents in the United Kingdom (6%), Sweden (8%) and Denmark (9%), while people in Greece, Cyprus and Poland had most confidence in the EU (28, 27 and 26% respectively). The G8 was considered most capable by respondents in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden (36, 35 and 34% respectively) and least capable by people in Malta, Romania and Ireland (10, 11 and 12%).
Feelings on the benefits of the euro were mixed. Overall, 44% of respondents felt that the euro had mitigated negative effects whereas 39% felt it had not. But again national variations were wide: in Slovakia 66% felt that the euro had helped soften the blows, while in the UK, which is not part of the euro zone, only 27% felt so. Asked if their national currency would have provided better protection, views were evenly split in countries with the euro: 45% agreed and 45% did not. Here as well results varied widely from Portugal with 62% saying that the escudo would have helped better, to Slovakia with 72% feeling safer with the euro. In countries outside the eurozone, Hungarians would have preferred to have had the euro (61%), while only 17% of Bulgarians thought so.
