Results of the Eurobarometer survey on cultural and ethnic Diversity

Three in four EU citizens welcome the dialogue with other cultures according to the latest Eurobarometer on cultural and ethnic Diversity commissioned by the European Commission in 2007. Almost three quarters of EU citizens (72%) believe that people with a different background (ethnic, religious or national) enrich the cultural life of their country, while a quarter (23%) of citizens disagrees with that idea. Respondents were asked about the patterns of their interaction with people of different cultures, about their general attitude towards cultural diversity and, specifically, about the upcoming European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008.
The most important results of the survey can be grouped together into categories such as Day-to-day interaction among people belonging to different cultures as a reality in Europe, positive benefits of intercultural dialogue, meanings to the expression “Intercultural dialogue in Europe” and general interest for the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Overall the results were positive, stating that a large majority of EU citizens believe that intercultural dialogue and people with a different background (ethnic, religious or national) enrich the cultural life of their country.
More information can be found here