Spanish more concerned about emigration out of country than immigration, survey finds

THE majority of Spanish people are more concerned about people migrating out of the country than about immigrants coming in, according to European think tank.

The European Council on Foreign Relations poll found a majority of respondents in Spain, along with Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Romania, were more concerned about emigration then immigration.

Almost 50,000 people from 14 countries were polled by YouGov for the survey.

Mark Leonard, of YouGov, said the findings showed that seeing May’s European election as one to be won or lost on migration would be a “strategic blunder”.

“The findings from this poll should giver heart to pro-Europeans, and show that there are still votes to be won on major issues such as climate change, healthcare, housing and living standards,” Leonard said.

A majority of Spanish respondents said they would support controls on emigration to help keep the country’s population from declining.

A majority of respondents in Northern European countries said they were more concerned about immigration than they were about emigration.

Spain was among seven EU countries where more than 50 per cent of survey respondents placed corruption at the top of their list of concerns.