The latest opinion poll conducted by TNS Medium Galup, which was presented today by the EU Delegation to Serbia, shows that 59 per cent of citizens, who believe that EU will bring better future and prosperity, are in favour of Serbia’s EU membership and think that the condition for EU accession will be to recognise Kosovo’s independence.
Economic reasons, prosperity of the country in particular, are most commonly stated as reasons for membership (46 per cent), followed by increased living standard (38 per cent) and chance of employment (34 per cent), the presentation detailed.
Should an accession referendum take place today, 55 per cent of total Serbian population would vote in favour of EU membership, while 26 per cent would vote against it, the data shows. Also, the referendum would show a high turnout of 73 per cent.
Director of research and development at TNS Medium Galup, Milana Aleksic, said that, compared to previous years, the data showed an increase in positive attitudes among citizens toward EU, whereas there are no significant changes compared to the survey conducted in September 2014.
According to her, younger and more educated population tend to think more positive about the Union.
34 per cent of respondents are against the EU membership.
Those against the EU have stated fear of poverty, exploitation of Serbia, sovereignty loss and various forms of pressure as reasons, she said.
The percentage of those who believe that Serbia is not likely to ever join the EU decreased and is now 14, whereas in September 2014 they accounted for 22 percent.
As much as 57 per cent of respondents believe that Serbia would become a Member State in five to ten years.
Serbian public increasingly fears of new conditions being imposed to Serbia by the Union, whereas 41 per cent think that the main condition is Kosovo. At the same time, 66 per cent of respondents are against recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
58 per cent of citizens support the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which remains a stable support compared to previous surveys, Aleksic said.
According to her, the citizens say they would like to know more about the EU, about the effects of membership on living standards, because 53 per cent of them feel insufficiently informed.
According to respondents, 24 per cent see EU as a main donor in Serbia; 49 per cent of them have heard about the assistance during last year’s floods.
Opinion poll Attitudes of Serbian citizens towards EU integration, ordered by the EU Delegation, was conducted in March 2015 by TNS Medium Galup, on a sample of 1,256 adult Serbian citizens.
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