Builders of Progress: The war in Ukraine through the eyes of youth

Policy Brief

As war continues to rage in Ukraine, a new survey has found that nearly two thirds of young people in Europe fear that the conflict could spread within the EU.

Over 60% of respondents think that EU countries should spend more on their military, and almost half support the creation of an EU army. While a majority are not keen on EU countries taking military action in Ukraine if it risked nuclear conflict with Russia, there is a sizable minority, at 44%, who would support this course of action.

With EU leaders continuing to debate further sanctions and possible bans on Russian energy imports, over three quarters of those surveyed said they supported strong economic sanctions against Russia, while three quarters of those who expressed an opinion said the EU should speed up the transition to renewable energy to rely less on energy from outside the EU.

The findings are contained in a report called Builders of Progress: Europe’s NextGen “The War in Ukraine Through the Eyes of Youth”, conducted by FEPS and ThinkYoung. Between 25 March and 7 April, the survey questioned 7,367 young Europeans aged 18 to 38 from France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, Poland and Romania.

Builders of Progress is a research project exploring the main concerns and hopes of young Europeans aged 16 to 38. It examines their opinions regarding a wide range of societal issues – including climate change, political participation and the European Union. The research findings intend to stimulate debate and provide informed advice on how to shape a progressive future with and for young people. The project is the successor to FEPS Millennial Dialogue project series, about which you can find more information here.

The project is conducted by the FEPS with the support of Anny Klawa-Morf Stiftung, Društvo Progressiva, Felipe González Foundation, Fondation Jean Jaurès and the Party of European Socialists (PES), and in co-operation with ThinkYoung – the research organisation that has co-ordinated the surveys and examination of the findings.