EU more popular post-Brexit, including in UK, survey finds

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · Jun 03, 2026 · 550 words · By Simon Ormiston

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What to know about EU more popular post-Brexit, including in UK, survey finds

A decade after Brexit, a new survey suggests the vote that split Britain may have helped bring the rest of Europe closer together.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A decade after Brexit, a new survey suggests the vote that split Britain may have helped bring the rest of Europe closer together.

Why it matters

Public support for the European Union has risen significantly across much of Europe since the UK's decision to leave the bloc in 2016, according to a new report from the Pew Research Centre.

Common ground

The survey, conducted in eight European countries, found that favourable views of the EU are now higher than they were at the time of the Brexit referendum.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: EU more popular post-Brexit, including in UK, survey finds?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that France remained more divided, with 52% holding positive views, while Greece was the only country surveyed where favourable views failed to reach a majority?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/06/03/eu-is-more-popular-post-brexit-inc…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4

info Single Source 4

verified Verified By Reference 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

check_circle Corroborated 1

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Claim 1: “France remained more divided, with 52% holding positive views, while Greece was the only country surveyed where favourable views failed to reach a majority.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 2: “The survey, conducted in eight European countries, found that favourable views of the EU are now higher than they were at the time of the Brexit referendum.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general trend of rising favorability is corroborated in Claim 0, the specific detail about the survey being conducted in 'eight European countries' is not explicitly confirmed by the provided snippets, though the general Pew report is mentioned.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on Thursday 23 June 2016 in the Unite…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_U…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brexit (; a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CE…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In 2016, the impact of Brexit on the European Union (EU) was expected to result in social and economic changes to the Union, but also longer term political and institutional shifts. The extent of thes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_Brexit_on_the_Europe…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 3: “Across the UK and seven EU member states, tracked consistently since 2016, 62% of respondents now have a positive view of the EU, compared with 49% a decade ago.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'positive' and general Wikipedia entries on Brexit, but contains no specific statistical data regarding the 49% to 62% shift.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The referendum on EU membership took place on 23 June 2016. Opinion polling for the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum was ongoing in the months between the announcement of a referen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_United…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Public support for the European Union has risen significantly across much of Europe since the UK's decision to leave the bloc in 2016, according to a new report from the Pew Research Centre.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results from June and May 2026 explicitly state that Pew Research polling shows favorable views of the EU have increased across Europe since the 2016 Brexit vote.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The demographics of the European Union show a highly populated, culturally diverse union of 27 member states. As of 1 January 2025, the population of the EU is slightly higher than 450 million people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_European_U…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Islam is the second-largest religion in Europe after Christianity. Although the majority of Muslim communities in Western Europe formed as a result of immigration, there are centuries-old indigenous E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Europe

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Religion has been a major influence on the societies, cultures, traditions, philosophies, artistic expressions and laws within present-day Europe. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity. Howev…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Europe

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 5: “Support for the EU was strongest in Sweden, where 79% of respondents expressed a favourable opinion.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the specific 79% figure for Sweden.

info

Claim 6: “A recent YouGov survey in the UK confirmed that there is an increasing majority who would support closer ties with the EU, but 64% of participants would not back rejoining the trading bloc if Britain was forced to adopt the single currency and the Schengen passport-free area rules.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided explains what YouGov is as a company, but does not contain the specific survey results regarding the 64% opposition to rejoining under single currency/Schengen rules.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — YouGov plc is an international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia–Pacific.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouGov

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web search NEUTRAL — Explore YouGov's market research and data analytics services for valuable insights. Make informed business decisions with our consumer analysis & intelligence.
https://yougov.com/en-us

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web search NEUTRAL — I've been using YouGov for a few years now and it's been a wonderful experience. Great surveys and the rewards are amazing.
https://today.yougov.com/account/

info

Claim 7: “Despite narrowly voting to leave the EU in June 2016, 67% of Britons now view the bloc favourably, while 31% hold an unfavourable opinion.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One specific web search result from June 3, 2026, explicitly confirms that 67% of Britons now view the bloc favorably despite the 2016 vote. Other sources discuss general trends but not this specific percentage.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — By 2016, the countries viewing the EU most unfavourably were the UK, Greece, France, and Spain. ... The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euroscepticism

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 ... The UK itself has seen one of the most notable shifts. Despite narrowly voting to leave the EU in June 2016, 67% of Britons now view the bloc ...
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/eu-more-popular-post-brexit-163625…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 4, 2017 ... In the UK, opinion has shifted dramatically, as negative attitudes are now expressed by almost two-thirds (64%, up by 22 points), while positive ...
https://globescan.com/2017/07/04/sharp-drop-in-world-views-o…

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Claim 8: “Respondents who identified with the political left were generally more supportive of the EU than those on the right.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 9: “That compares to 48% who maintained an unfavourable stance toward the EU at the time of the referendum.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided discusses the 2016 referendum generally, but does not provide the specific statistic that 48% of Britons held an unfavorable view at that exact time.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_U…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 22, 2026 ... As II recall, brittons were given the wrong information about the consequences of leaving the European Union. And not too long after Brexit - ...
https://www.facebook.com/cnninternational/posts/on-june-23-2…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 9, 2026 ... 57% of Britons believe the UK was wrong to vote to leave the EU, and 55% want to rejoin... unless the UK can't keep it's previous opt-outs.
https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/54925-what-do-britons-thin…

help

Claim 10: “Germany followed with 68%, while the Netherlands, Poland and Italy all recorded support levels above 60%.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support the specific percentages for Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, or Italy.

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Claim 11: “Pew researchers noted that support for the EU rose sharply in the years immediately following the Brexit vote and climbed further after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 12: “Hungary and Poland were surveyed for the first time this year, expanding the pool to 10 countries.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided consists of general Wikipedia entries about Hungary and Poland and their relations, but does not mention their inclusion in a specific Pew survey this year.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hungary–Poland relations are the foreign relations between Poland and Hungary. Relations between the two nations date back to the Middle Ages. The two Central European peoples have traditionally enjoy…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary–Poland_relations

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Louis I of Hungary, also known as Louis the Great (Hungarian: Nagy Lajos; Croatian: Ludovik Veliki; Slovak: Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian (Polish: Ludwik Węgierski, Italian: Luigi l'ungherese;…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_I_of_Hungary

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Personal union between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Poland was achieved twice: under Louis I of Hungary, in 1370–1382, and under Władysław III of Poland in 1440–1444. An earlier union was…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Hungary_and_Poland

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 13: “UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated he wants closer ties with Europe.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 14: “The survey asked participants, "Tell me if you have a very favourable, somewhat favourable, somewhat unfavourable, or very unfavourable opinion of the European Union?"”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided describes what the Pew Research Center is as an organization, but does not provide the specific wording of the survey question used in this study.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.