EU flags (PHOTO: EUROPEAN UNION/Zucchi Enzo)
There is clear pessimism among Serbian citizens regarding membership in the European Union, as well as reservations regarding relations with China, while Russia is considered to contribute the most to Serbia's national interests.
The Institute of International Politics and Economics carried out the public opinion survey on international relations and Serbia's foreign-policy position that produced these results, in concert with the Institute of Social Sciences.
Asked which force contributed the most to defending Serbia's national interests, by far the most respondents, 47.4 percent, picked Russia, while 24.6 percent picked the EU and 10.5 percent China.
The survey results place Romania as Serbia's biggest regional partner, with 41.7 percent so voting, followed by Hungary (29.8 percent) and Montenegro and Macedonia (approximately ten percent each).
When it comes to the outlook for Serbia's membership in the EU, 59.2 percent of respondents said the country would never join the EU, 9.3 percent said it may but by 2050, while only 7.5 percent believe accession to be possible in the next five years.
Asked about imposing sanctions against Russia, 64.2 percent replied that they were against, 73.3 percent believe Serbia is taking on too much debt in infrastructure projects with China, and as many as 92 percent would demand more guarantees for environmental standards in infrastructure projects involving all foreign partners in Serbia.
When the attitudes of foreign leaders toward Serbia were rated, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban received the highest assessments, as did Russian and Chinese presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. EU leaders, conversely, were rated very negatively, while opinions about U.S. President Donald Trump were mostly neutral.
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