BERLIN—The refugee crisis and the threat of terrorism in Europe are very much related to one another in the minds of many Europeans, according to a survey conducted across the continent.
Monday’s poll by the Pew Research Center found that in eight of the ten European nations surveyed, half or more believe that the influx of migrants increases the likelihood of terrorism in their country. Many Europeans also worry that migrants will become an economic burden and take away their jobs and social benefits.
The survey covered the European countries of Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary and Poland. It was conducted from April to May — before the British referendum to leave the European Union and the extremist attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport last month.
The continent saw an overwhelming influx of more than one million migrants in 2015 — with the majority arriving from Muslim countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Almost all of them applied for asylum in the EU with Germany and Sweden as their top destinations.
Meanwhile, populist parties all over the continent successfully increased their numbers by campaigning against Muslim migrants, including the National Front in France, the UK Independence Party, the right-wing Alternative for Germany and Austria’s Freedom Party.
Europe has recently suffered several major terrorist attacks, including the assaults by the Islamic State group on Paris and Brussels that killed scores of people. Many of the attackers were European-born, but some are believed to have traveled to Syria to join IS before returning to carry out the attacks — a few of them by mixing in with migrant flows to avoid detection on their way home.
Some 76 percent of people surveyed in Hungary said they’re concerned that refugees will increase the likelihood of terrorism in their country, followed by the Polish with 71 percent. Majorities in all other surveyed countries shared this belief — with the exception of Spain and France.
