Europe plunged into financial crisis in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain.
The worsening debt crisis has forced EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries including Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy.
A new survey reveals that more than 40 percent of the Europeans are pessimistic about the future outlook of the European Union (EU).
In a poll conducted by the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation, 42 percent of the respondents said the EU is in decline while 29 percent expected the future to hold better prospects for the Union.
Some 23 percent stated that the condition of the EU will not change either for the better or worse with six percent saying they had no opinion.
The survey, published on September 5, 2012, was conducted from August 13 to 17 by telephone among 6,000 German, French, British, Italian, Spanish, and Polish adults.