MORE THEN SIX OUT of ten Europeans feel that pooling part of public debt across the EU should be done in the interest of solidarity, according to the latest European Parliament/Eurobarometer poll.

However, 66 per cent of people also said that they believe such pooling would only benefit the countries whose finances are in the most extreme difficulty.

Almost half of the poll’s respondents say that the EU must take action to cut public spending while simultaneously introducing measures to boost the economy.

A quarter (25 per cent) said they believe measures to stimulate the economy should be prioritised while a slightly smaller proportion (23 per cent) say that public spending cuts should be the main priority.

Meanwhile, 55 per cent said they would feel better protected by measures adopted in coordination with other EU members and 38 per cent said they would prefer individual measures. The poll also found that 80 per cent of respondents believe financial support for EU members in difficulty must be done on the condition that the member state complies with common rules.

Almost three out of four people said they believe penalties should be imposed when such conditions are breached.

The poll was carried out between 10 and 25 March and involved face-t0-face interviews across the EU with 26,593 people aged 15 and over.