Eurobarometers are financed by the European Commission and are carried out simultaneously in the European Union member countries. The surveys study the social and political opinions of persons living in the member countries. The first series was published in 1974. The surveys consist of regularly repeated questions, and additional questions on topics considered important at the time of the survey. The regularly asked questions deal with the European Community/European Union, European Parliament, as well as with the functioning of democracy in respondents' native countries. The alternating questions have focused, for example, on the following issues: employment, unemployment, the roles of sexes, ecology and energy policy, position of children and adolescents, poverty, health, biotechnology, regional development, consumer behaviour, and education.
The countries that have participated in the Eurobarometer surveys since 1974 are France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Luxemburg. Greece came in in 1980, Portugal and Spain in 1985, the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1990, Sweden and Austria in 1994, Finland in 1995, Cyprus, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and Slovakia in 2004, and Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. The Finnish Eurobarometer data have been collected since 1995 (EB 43), but as for the questions related to the EU, Finland has participated already since 1993 (EB 39). The material is collected by specialised organisations. In Finland, the material is collected by Gallup Finland (TNS Gallup Ltd).
Variables related to the contents of the Eurobarometers are usually under embargo for two years, after which they can be freely used. The GESIS (German data archive) maintains a Eurobarometer site, where you can find information on, for example, study profiles (including questionnaires in different languages, and information on possible errata and embargoes), trend questions, and sampling and fieldwork. There is also a search engine for browsing questionnaires and codebooks. The results of the latest surveys can be found on the web pages of the European Commission's Public Opinion Analysis Sector.
Besides the standard Eurobarometers, the Commission has collected comparative data from non-EU countries. The Central and Eastern Eurobarometer (CEEB) was fielded eight times between 1990 and 1997, and the Candidate Countries Eurobarometer (CCEB) eleven times between 2001 and 2004.
GESIS ZACAT, the data portal of the GESIS, offers diverse information on all Eurobarometers. Eurobarometers, the Candidate Countries Eurobarometers, and the Central and Eastern Eurobarometers are available for download. The service is free, but downloading requires registration.