Eurobarometer trends and trend files
A large number of questions asked in standard Eurobarometer surveys have been replicated more or less regularly over time. They refer to European Union topics (e.g. attitudes towards the European unification, EU institutions and policies) and to general socio-cultural or socio-political orientations (e.g. political participation, trust in institutions, cultural identity, ...). They are complemented by standard demographics referring to the respondent, the household and to the locality.
For some indicators the number of measurement points from the early seventies until recently adds up to - for example - over 70 measures for "satisfaction with democracy performance" or even some 100 measures for "general life satisfaction". A detailed continuity guide documents selected Standard Eurobarometer trend questions and their appearance over time:
Cumulative trend files
- Mannheim Eurobarometer Trend File 1970-2002 - cumulative dataset based on selected major trends
- Central & Eastern Eurobarometer 1990-1997 - cumulative dataset based on the complete survey series
- Public Understanding of Science in Europe 1989-2005 - cumulative dataset based on five Eurobarometer waves
- European Election Studies - cumulative datasets with relevant questions from Eurobarometer surveys in the context the Elections to European Parliament
- Harmonized Eurobarometer 2004-2021 - cumulative dataset based on multiple surveys focusing on a variety of political and policy-related issues
- PolicyVotes Database on Political Responsiveness - several trendfiles and time series including Eurobarometer Trendfile with attitudes towards EU policies, partisanship, and further political attitudes and behaviour
Aggregated time series
The European Commission provides access to aggregated results for Eurobarometer standard trends:
- Interactive Search System (currently defunct) - some 50 long trends selectable across time and countries and with line/column chart, map or table view or export
- Selected trend lines (scroll down)
The European Parliament has published an exploratory study on "Major Changes in European Public Opinion with Regard to the European Union" 1973-2014.