Results of a EurActiv survey of German stakeholders

Recently EurActiv.de, the German partner of EurActiv’s 15-partner European media network, together with the European Movement Germany asked some 400 German companies and associations about their stance on key European policy issues as well as the role that European media play in their day-to-day activities.

Querying German civil society and industry viewpoints on key European policy issues, the survey provides interesting findings. “Although 50 percent rate the future of the Union as problematic, Germany exiting or a disintegration of the Euro-zone is clearly not an option for the survey respondants”, stated Ewald König, Editor-in-Chief of EurActiv Germany. “When questioned about German politicians, Peer Steinbrück (SPD) is seen as the most likely candidate to take a leading role in Europe, well ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU). When looking at single policy areas, respondents mainly want more European cooperation on energy and environment. Somewhat surprisingly, more EU influence is requested in the field of financial and fiscal policy.” 

“EurActiv and the Financial Times are the best known media on European politics in Germany and are both used by more than 70% of survey respondents”, stated Pertti Hermannek, CEO of EurActiv Germany, the initiator of the “Europa Ungeschminkt” survey. “Providing balanced reporting on EU news and policy debates is indeed showing results, not just in Brussels but also in the countries where we have a local network partner”, added Christophe Leclercq, Founder and Publisher of EurActiv.

“Print media clearly loose importance. Only half of the stakeholders still use traditional information sources, while 70% rely on internet portals. Despite the increasing relevance of digital sources, the personal conversation is still the best way to express political positions think 85% of the respondents,” situated Mr. Hermannek the use of information sources and media channels in Germany. “72 percent of our respondents rate the role of Europe in their own company or association as high. Half of them have a European division in their company or maintain a representative office in Brussels. On the other hand this is not reflected in corporate communication: three quarters of the companies still focus on national communication and only one quarter has a European communication strategy”, he concluded.

The complete “Europa Ungeschminkt” survey results (German) can be found here. 

The survey was sent in May 2011 to some 200 members of the European Movement Germany as well as to some 200 companies and organizations with a European or international focus, all based in Germany. 139 organizations from different sectors and social groups participated in the indicative, non-scientific survey.

Media contacts:

Pertti Hermannek / Ann-Katrin Bohmüller, Marketing, EurActiv.de +49.30.2088.9003, p.hermannek@euractiv.de, a.bohmueller@euractiv.de

Ewald König, Editor-in-Chief, EurActiv.de +49.30.2060.5150, e.koenig@euractiv.de 

Dominique Ostyn, Senior Manager Communication & New Media +32(0)2.788.36.88, communication@euractiv.com 

Christophe Leclercq, Publisher, EurActiv.com, +32(0)2.226.58.13, publisher@euractiv.com

Note to the editor:   

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