In 1970 and 1971, the European Commission conducted surveys in the six member countries of the European Community. These surveys assessed public opinion on individual national priorities as well as integrated European functions and organisations, including the Common Market. Regular semi-annual polls of member nations - now also including Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom - began in September 1973, with the survey series first being given the name Eurobarometer in 1974. The fieldwork for Euro-Barometer 1 was conducted in April-May of that year, with results published in July. A first international survey on attitudes towards European unification was carried out in 1962 at the request of the Press and Information Service of the European Communities in.
Standard Eurobarometer survey
The Standard Eurobarometer survey series is a cross-national longitudinal study, designed to compare and gauge trends within Member States of the European Union. This survey is carried out each autumn and spring. Although the range of questions has been expanded over the years, the programme aims to keep most of the survey constant, so that data is comparable over time. Starting with Eurobarometer 34, separate supplementary surveys on special topics have been conducted under almost every Eurobarometer wave. Special irregularly repeated modules investigate topics such as agriculture, biotechnology, consumer behaviour, elderly people, energy, environment, family, gender issues, health, immigration, poverty, regional identity, science and technology, urban traffic, working conditions, youth, etc. from a European perspective. In the case of some supplementary studies, special youth and elderly samples have been drawn.
Flash Eurobarometer
The Flash Eurobarometer was introduced in the 1990s and consists of interviews, conducted by telephone, which are undertaken on an ad hoc basis. The main advantage of the Flash survey, as opposed to a normal Eurobarometer survey, is that it is much faster, providing results almost instantaneously. In addition, it is more suitable to the targeting of specific groups within the EU population.
Central and Eastern Eurobarometer
The Central and Eastern Eurobarometer series was carried out annually on behalf of the European Commission between 1990 and 1997. The CEEB surveys monitored economic and political changes, as well as attitudes towards Europe and the European Union, in up to 20 countries of the region.
