Key takeaways
- Study conducted in France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, following a similar UK study last year
- Many Europeans don’t have a view on how well the ECHR is doing, but few want to withdraw
- Poles are consistently the most positive towards the ECHR, French tend to be most negative
- Widespread support across countries surveyed for reforms so family separation can no longer prevent deportations for major crimes
In December, nine EU countries including Italy, Poland, and the UK, signed an unofficial statement calling for a new framework for the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The European leaders, led by Italy’s Georgia Meloni and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, blame the ECHR for preventing countries from tackling illegal migration and deporting foreign nationals convicted of crimes.
How do Europeans feel about ECHR membership?
YouGov’s latest European Political Monthly survey – conducted in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Poland – show differing opinions regarding how well or bad a job the ECHR does, with “don’t know” being the plurality response in most countries surveyed.
Polish people are the exception, with half (50%) saying they think the ECHR generally does a good job, compared to only 15% who disagree. Germans are also much more likely to have favourable (37%) than unfavourable views (21%), while the French, Italians and Spaniards are largely divided.
While awareness of the ECHR’s performance may not be especially high, there is little appetite to leave the Convention. Just 11-19% in each country surveyed with to withdraw – this compares to 29% in Britain, according to a similar survey in the UK last year following Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s calls for withdrawal.
Between half and two thirds (50-66%) in the European countries surveyed say they want to stay within the ECHR (as did 46% of Britons).
When it comes to more specific benefits of ECHR membership, across nine areas we asked about, Europeans are most likely on average to think it has a positive impact on security co-operation with other European nations (35-47%), as well as on their nation’s reputation with other countries (30-45%).
At the other end of the scale, the areas Europeans are most likely to think ECHR membership has had a negative impact is on their country’s ability to deport illegal migrants, with 17-33% saying so. French people are notably more negative in this regard than others, including 24% saying it has a “major negative impact” on deportations.
In terms of their own everyday rights, Europeans tend to say that ECHR membership has a positive impact (30-44%) rather than a negative one (10-21%), while 24-34% believe it doesn’t make much difference.
Europeans support migration reforms in the ECHR
European leaders who signed the unofficial statement are hoping to make a political declaration by May 2026, which if successful may incur reforms to the ECHR that include making it easier for countries to deport immigrants who commit crimes.
Our survey finds that most Europeans in each country surveyed (59-75%) support changing the ECHR so that migrants who commit serious crimes can no longer use family separation to prevent deportation. Support for such a move is high across the political spectrum in each of the respondent countries.
How much do Europeans actually know about the ECHR?
Only 2-4% of Europeans claim to know a ‘great deal’ about the ECHR, and just 15-29% consider themselves to know a ‘fair amount’. Instead, the majority say they know little (42-53%) to nothing (15-29%) about the Convention.
When tested on their actual knowledge, Europeans are most likely to correctly identify the right not to be tortured (44-57%) and the right to a fair trial (36-56%) as areas covered by the ECHR.
Only 13-21% correctly state that the ECHR cannot overrule and/or annul national laws, and just 10-15% are right in saying that the ECHR is not an EU body.
Despite Poles declaring the most familiarity with the ECHR, with one third saying they know a great deal or a fair amount about the Convention, they prove no more likely to have answered our true/false questions correctly.
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