On the initiative of the European Parliament, 2011 had been declared the ‘Year of Volunteering’, while 2012 was the ‘Year of Intergenerational Solidarity’: two good reasons for the European Parliament to conduct a Eurobarometer survey in order to discover what Europeans think about these two concepts, and to understand better how they experience them or put them into practice.

This Eurobarometer survey was conducted between 1 and 16 May 2011 by TNS opinion.

Before analysing the responses from Europeans, it is necessary to emphasise some important points which can be drawn from this survey.

• It is very difficult to reach general conclusions because of the different status of the voluntary sector in different Member States.
• In the absence of Eurostat or other general statistics, the number of Europeans undertaking voluntary work cannot be quantified with any certainty.
• The contribution of the voluntary sector to the GDP of the EU and its Member States is very difficult to estimate. No EU-wide statistics are available. National data are only available in a few countries.
• There is a broad consensus that volunteering plays an important role in society, based on the values of solidarity. It contributes to citizenship, especially through the fact that it is well-established at a local level, and is a factor for personal fulfilment and development.
• 22 to 25% of Europeans are involved in voluntary work
• Sport and culture: the main areas for voluntary work
• Solidarity and humanitarian aid: the area in which the voluntary sector plays the most important role
• Maintaining and strengthening social cohesion, the first benefit of volunteering in the EU
• Defining an operating framework for the voluntary sector at national or EU level: a divided response.
• Massive support for the creation of volunteer rescue teams in every region
• Encouraging intergenerational solidarity

In this survey, 6462 of the 26 825 Europeans aged over 15 who were interviewed said that they were either regularly or occasionally involved in voluntary work. This amounts to 24% of the respondents. The Commission’s Eurobarometer survey conducted in February 2007 states that "we can reliably estimate that more than 100 million citizens engage in voluntary work". The two surveys thus have similar results.

The European average for volunteering must be tempered by looking at the national results (see table page 8). 48 points separate the Netherlands (57%), where volunteering is most widespread, and Poland (9%), where it is least common. Twelve countries are above the European average and fifteen below it. In seven of these, volunteering is below 20%.

Respondents aged 20 and above are most likely to volunteer (32%), followed by students (26%). In terms of occupation, 34% of managers say that they are involved in voluntary work, compared with 17% of the unemployed.

The 24% of respondents who said that they were involved in volunteering were asked about the nature of their voluntary work. 24% answered that they volunteered in a sports club or a club for outdoor pursuits. 20% answered ‘within a cultural, educational or artistic organisation’. 16% said that they volunteered ‘in a charitable organisation or social aid organisation, an NGO, a humanitarian association, or in development aid’.

All respondents were asked about the areas in which they felt that the voluntary sector played an important role. Three of the four areas first mentioned were directly concerned with solidarity and integration. ‘Solidarity and humanitarian aid’ were the two areas coming at the top of the responses, at 37%. It is interesting to note the very clear difference between the general perception amongst all Europeans of the importance of a given field, and the voluntary work undertaken by the 24% of respondents who are actually engaged in this work. Sport, for example, is the leading voluntary activity, though only 15% of respondents say that it plays an important role.

The healthcare system is in second place, with 32%. This is followed by education and training and the environment, both on 22%. The fourth area in which Europeans believe that the voluntary sector plays an important role is ‘the social inclusion of disadvantaged citizens’, with 21%.

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