Brussels – Europeans are split down the middle over the EU tax on the world’s largest tech companies as a contribution to funding the next multiannual EU budget, which will run from 2028 to 2034. This is according to the latest survey by Polling Europe Euroscope—a Brussels-based market research and polling organisation, a joint venture between SWG and OpinionWay—previewed exclusively by Eunews.
When asked “Do you agree or disagree with the proposal for an EU-wide tax on the world’s largest tech companies to help fund the next EU-27 budget?”, 39 per cent said they were in favour, and 21 per cent said they did not know. Forty per cent, on the other hand, had no doubts: their response is opposed to the idea. This was partly because “additional taxes on large tech companies should be levied at national level and used to fund national budgets” (this is the view of 29 per cent of those surveyed) and partly because “it is better not to tax large tech companies” according to 11 per cent. So, on closer inspection, the outright “disagreement” accounts for 11 per cent, while the remaining 29 per cent are not opposed to taxing large companies as such, but rather to the fact that it is a European, rather than a national, measure.
The survey analyses data at a pan-European level, but with a breakdown for the five largest countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland. In this context, Italy has the highest level of support for the European tax on large tech companies, with 46 per cent in favour and 32 per cent against. This is followed by Poland, with 42 per cent in favour (37 per cent against), Spain (41 per cent in favour, 37 per cent against), and France (38 per cent in favour, 36 per cent against). Germany is the only country among the five analysed where those in favour are outnumbered by those opposed: 36 per cent in favour and 45 per cent opposed.
In terms of the respondents’ political affiliation, 51 per cent of La Sinistra voters are in favour, as are 49 per cent of Socialists (S&D) and Greens, 47 per cent of Renew Europe supporters and 41 per cent of the People’s Party (EPP) supporters. Voters for the Conservatives (ECR), Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) have the lowest levels of support, at 35 per cent, 33 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
In the growing and competitive field of artificial intelligence, according to one in two respondents, “Europe should focus on becoming the United States’ strongest partner, rather than its main competitor”. This view is shared by 50 per cent of Europeans surveyed, with figures peaking at 68 per cent in Poland and 54 per cent in Spain. Meanwhile, Germany (46 per cent), Italy (41 per cent) and France (37 per cent) are below the 50 per cent threshold. Among the five countries analysed, those opposed stand at 16 per cent in Poland, 31 per cent in Spain, 36 per cent in Germany, 38 per cent in France and, with the highest proportion, 40 per cent in Italy. In this context, support for a closer partnership between Europe and the US is strongest on the right. While only a minority of voters for La Sinistra, S&D, and the Greens support this idea (39 per cent and 46 per cent for socialists and greens respectively), in the case of Renew Europe this figure reaches 55 per cent, 64 per cent among EPP voters, and 65 per cent among ECR voters. Support falls slightly to 58 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, among the Patriots and the sovereignists (ESN).
Finally, in response to the question whether, with regard to strategic sectors, the EU should grant preferential access to public procurement and industrial partnerships only to European companies, or also to companies from trusted non-EU partner countries, 26 per cent of respondents support the option of granting access only to European companies, whilst 38 per cent would extend this to include companies from trusted non-EU countries. The option of opening up access to “all companies, regardless of their origin, provided they offer the best price and the best quality” garners support of less than 20 per cent in all five countries analysed in greater detail. And, among the political groups, 20 per cent of La Sinistra voters, 21 per cent of ECR and PfE voters, and 30 per cent of ESN voters support this view.
The survey was conducted online using the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) method on a representative sample of the EU population aged 18 and over. A total of 5,048 complete interviews were conducted, collected between 3 and 10 July 2026, distributed proportionally across the populations of the 27 EU countries, with a slight adjustment to enable the data to be analysed at a pan-European level, with breakdowns for the five largest countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland) and for three different regions: Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, and Southern Europe. For each country, proportional quotas were established for age and gender, based on the most recent parameters provided by Eurostat.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
