BRUSSELS, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A recent poll revealed on Tuesday that more than half of European Union (EU) citizens were still unhappy about the solidarity shown during the coronavirus pandemic, although the ratio was lower than two months ago.

While 53 percent of the respondents across the EU were not satisfied, 39 percent of them on average felt satisfied in the survey commissioned by the European Parliament and conducted in late June. The positive response showed an average increase of 5 percentage points than in April.

Around two-thirds of those polled agree that the EU should be more competent in dealing with such health crises as COVID-19, and 56 percent of Europeans believed the EU should have greater financial means to be able to overcome the consequences of the pandemic.

"The results of this survey clearly show that EU citizens expect the EU to show more solidarity and take more action to assist the recovery. They also recognize the need for a larger EU budget to tackle the unprecedented impact the pandemic has had on our economy and society," European Parliament President David Sassoli said in a press release.

"In the context of the current budget negotiations, Parliament stands by the citizens in their call for a more effective and ambitious EU," added Sassoli. He made the remarks four days ahead of the special summit of EU leaders, which will focus on the seven-year budget and a massive recovery plan designed to mitigate the fallout of the pandemic.

The 27-member bloc was accused of backsliding in its joint efforts to tackle COVID-19, particularly in the early phase in March, when news broke that some member states stopped the single market flows by suspending medical exports and unilaterally closed EU's internal borders.