Marking International Youth Day, the European Parliament’s Youth Survey 2024 reveals young Europeans prioritise affordability and climate action — offering a roadmap for EU policy, investment, and ESG strategy.
The EP Youth Survey 2024, conducted with 25,863 people aged 16–30 in all 27 Member States, found that 40% rank rising prices and the cost of living as the EU’s top priority, followed by environment and climate change (33%) and the economic situation and job creation (31%).
Where priorities differ — and why it matters for ESG strategy
While cost of living leads overall, climate and environment dominate in Italy (46%), Denmark (44%), and France (40%).
For ESG-focused investors and companies, these national differences point to where green investment may find the strongest public backing — and where affordability measures may be essential to maintain support for the energy transition.
Values driving expectations
Young people place protecting human rights, democracy and peace (45%) and freedom of speech and thought (41%) as their highest values. These priorities frame their expectations for EU action, regulation, and corporate conduct, with implications for how companies align with governance and social responsibility benchmarks.
Confidence in the EU — with caveats
Support for the EU remains strong:
31% are in favour of the EU and how it currently works.
32% are in favour of the EU but not its present functioning.
Compared with 2021, the first group is up four points.
In all Member States, at least half of young people are pro-EU, though in some, such as Cyprus, more favour change to its current workings.
The information battleground
Social media is now the top source of political and social information (42%), ahead of television (39%).
Instagram (47%), TikTok (39%), and YouTube (37%) lead platform preferences.
A large majority (76%) report encountering disinformation in the week before the survey, yet 70% feel confident they can spot it. For policymakers and ESG communicators, this underscores the need to engage on these platforms with credible, evidence-based messaging.
Other notable findings
AI adoption: 57% used AI tools for text, images, or video in the past year, most often for study/research (36%).
Voting behaviour: Top reasons for not voting in the June 2024 elections were other commitments (16%) and lack of sufficient information (16%).
Why this matters on International Youth Day
The survey’s data offers a roadmap for the next European policy cycle:
Affordability measures will remain politically decisive across most of the bloc.
Climate action will need to be framed in ways that align with cost-of-living concerns.
Public engagement on sustainability will increasingly run through social platforms where young people already consume news — and where disinformation risks are high.
For ESG-driven businesses, aligning strategies with these youth priorities will be key to long-term resilience and relevance in the European market.
