The survey, based on responses from more than 26,000 people across all EU member states, found that 29% expect their personal financial situation to deteriorate in the coming years. By comparison, only 18% believe their standard of living will improve.

Older Europeans appear to be the most concerned about the future. More than a third (34%) of respondents aged 55 and over expect living standards to decline, while the figure falls to 17% among younger people.

The findings also reveal clear differences between countries. France recorded the highest level of pessimism, with 44% of respondents expecting their situation to get worse over the next five years. Portugal, Germany and Austria also reported relatively high levels of concern.

In contrast, people living in Nordic countries and several Central and Eastern European nations were generally more optimistic. Only 9% of respondents in Poland expected their standard of living to decline, while Hungary recorded the lowest level of economic pessimism in the European Union, at just 8%.

According to the survey, economic uncertainty may also be affecting how some citizens view the European Union itself. While half of respondents across the bloc said they have a positive opinion of the EU and 17% expressed a negative view, support was noticeably weaker in countries including France, Austria, Greece and Czechia.

France and Austria also ranked among the countries where people were least convinced that EU membership had benefited their nation. Only 62% of respondents in both countries believed membership had been positive overall, ahead of only Bulgaria, where the figure stood at 57%.

Inflation and the cost of living continue to dominate the list of issues Europeans want the European Parliament to prioritise. Nearly half of respondents (47%) identified rising prices as their main concern, an increase of six percentage points compared with the previous Eurobarometer survey.

Economic growth and job creation ranked as the second biggest priority, followed by defence and security.