Relevance lost - the rise and fall of opinion surveys

With increasing frequency, the European Commission issues Eurobarometer reports on energy issues, such as the latest 'Attitudes on issues related to EU Energy Policy'. This latest flash Eurobarometer gives a very clear and consistent signal accross the European Union on a number of energy issues.

For example:

• citizens are concerned about climate change
• they want a minimum percentage for the share of renewable energy
• governments should subsidise investments for energy efficiency and development of new technologies
• policy needs to be set at EU-level
• nuclear energy needs to be decreased
• citizens want to be able to choose their supplier for electricity and gas

All these choices have far-reaching implications. Unfortunately, the signal from EU citizens is not always consistent with previous Eurobarometer surveys on energy. A complex subject as energy does not lend itself well to telephone interviews. It gives citizens no chance for reflection, and the sequence & phrasing of questions introduces significant bias.