What makes us inherently European? Our love of soccer? Our love of chips? Our uncharitable attitudes towards each others bodily hygiene? Our love of the European Commission? No, really, Greenbang wasn’t joking about that. Apparently, Daily Mail aside, we love Europe and we would like them to be our overlords. According to – ahem – the European Commission, 95 percent of us would like policy decisions to be made by the EC.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said: “Most Europeans say that the European Union should do more for the environment and that decisions on the environment are best made at European level. An overwhelming majority of Europeans see harmonised European environmental legislation as necessary, and believe that the EU should help other countries improve their environmental standards.”

About two-thirds of European citizens prefer to see decisions on the environment made jointly within the European Union rather than at national level. A large proportion of Europeans also say that they see harmonised European environmental legislation as necessary (82%), that the EU should help non-EU countries improve their environmental standards (80%) and that the EU should allocate more money to the protection of the environment (78%).

Some 78% of Europeans also consider useful the creation of a European civil protection force to deal with natural disasters in their country.

Pah, you might sneer, that’s alright for those on the mainland, but what about us, stuck out on our constantly-annoyed island? Well, says the EC…

For the UK public, the most effective way of tackling environmental problems is by providing more information on environmental issues. It is notable that, relative to the average EU citizen, those in the UK are less likely to see the solution as lying in legislation – whether that is in the better enforcement of existing laws or the introduction of more stringent legislation.

There is strong support in the UK for European environmental policies whether that is in terms of common European legislation, the EU’s help for non-EU countries and higher budget shares for environmental protection in the EU. At the same time these levels of support are somewhat lower than those seen in the EU as a whole.

There is strong support in the UK for European environmental policies whether that is in terms of common European legislation, the EU’s help for non-EU countries and higher budget shares for environmental protection in the EU. At the same time these levels of support are somewhat lower than those seen in the EU as a whole.

If you fancy some more nosing around on how we fare compared to our Euro-neighbours, it’s all here.

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