“This data suggests that citizens continue to look at European affairs from a national point of view and that Brexit was of major concern to the Portuguese [citizens] in the second half of 2018,” according to the document that will be delivered to the European Council on 13 and 14 December.

For Portuguese citizens, Brexit raises concern about the “economy, the tuition for Portuguese students in British universities and the status of Portuguese citizens” residing in the country.

Apart from Brexit, “the EU’s economic future and the consequences of the European debt crisis” were at the top of the list of concerns of the participants, marked by a “recurring question on the measures adopted by the EU to ensure the stability of the euro.”

In the meetings, “the main criticisms of the EU were related to the perception of increasing economic divergence between member states, the lack of solidarity, the need for greater support for Portugal’s economic growth and the need for greater political transparency.”

The Meetings with Citizens were proposed by France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, to “identify priorities, concerns and ideas” of the citizens of all member states that can help define the future of the European project.