Indeed looking at the latest 2014 Eurobarometer survey, immigration rises now in fourth place at EU level with 24 pc, up 3 percentage points from the last opinion poll conducted in the wake of the European Parliament elections in May.

Immigration is also the third largest source of concern at national level. According to the study, for 18 pc of respondents, immigration is a major concern when it is even cited as the main concern in Malta, the UK and Germany.

Incidentally, 71 per cent of respondents say they support a common European migration policy and 52 per cent say they have a positive view of the immigration of people from other EU Member States.

In the field of economics, the results of the survey show that the expectations of Europeans remain stable. More than one in five (22 per cent) are optimistic for the next twelve months and 45 pc of them expect the situation to not change.

In other words, more than six out of ten Europeans think that the economic situation will not deteriorate. The number of Europeans believing that the impact of the crisis on jobs has already reached its peak (44 pc) is slightly lower than those who think that 'the worst is yet to come' (46 pc).

Regarding the investment in the EU, more than 60 pc of respondents agree that it is necessary to use public money to stimulate private sector investment at EU level.

Furthermore, most Europeans consider the free market (the free movement of people, goods and services within the EU) as one of the EU's most positive achievements (52 pc), after peace between Member States (56 pc).

The study, which provides an overview of the attitudes of Europeans towards the EU, its institutions and its policies, is based on individual interviews, conducted between 8 and 17 November 2014. A total of 32,598 people were interviewed in the EU Member States and candidate countries.

Click here to have access to the survey