An EU flag and a Union flag held by a demonstrator at the Houses of Parliament as marchers taking part in an anti-Brexit, pro-European Union (EU) enter Parliament Square in central London on March 25, 2017 Europeans are more positive about future of the EU — except the Brits The survey of over 33,000 people across Europe suggests overall trust in EU is on the rise.

A comfortable majority of Europeans now say they are optimistic about the future of the EU and more than two-thirds identify themselves as EU citizens, according to a survey of more than 33,000 people across the bloc and in candidate countries.

At 68 percent, the figure on EU citizenship is the highest ever recorded by the regular European Commission survey for this indicator from when they began asking the question in 2010 (when it was at 62 percent), suggesting that people across the bloc are more comfortable than ever identifying themselves as members of the transnational club.

The figure of 56 percent for EU optimism — in the latest Eurobarometer survey published Wednesday — marks a rise of six points on the last poll, conducted in autumn. Since then, pro-European moderates have beat off competition from nationalist, anti-European parties in both the Dutch and French elections, and economic news within the bloc has improved.

But more than a year on from the Brexit referendum, those surveyed in the U.K. were markedly less feel-good about the EU's future. Thirty-nine percent said they were optimistic and just 20 percent said they thought the British economy would improve during the next year — down 6 points on the last survey.

When asked if the impact of the 2008 economic crisis on jobs has already reached its peak, Brits were a bit more pessimistic with half of the respondents saying the worst is still to come. The EU average is at 47 percent.

The data also shows that despite the Brexit process having started, Brits now appear to have a slightly more positive view of the bloc they are leaving. Thirty-six percent said they had a positive image of the EU, up 2 percentage points, and 29 percent say they have a negative image (down 3 percentage points).

Across the rest of Europe, the most significant increases in optimism about the EU were in France (55 percent, a rise of 14 percentage points since last fall), Denmark (70 percent, up 13 points) and Portugal (64 percent, up 10 points).

The report also suggests that trust in the EU is on the rise across the bloc. More than four in 10 Europeans trust the EU (42 percent): up 10 percentage points since fall 2015.