Eurobarometer: Public Opinion in Serbia Divided on EU Membership

Belgrade, panorama (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Public opinion in Serbia is divided on the country's prospective membership in the European Union with nearly equal percentages having positive or negative outlooks on the EU, while the majority believe the country would benefit from accession, a Eurobarometer survey published on May 8 has shown.

According to the poll, 38 percent of respondents believe Serbia's accession to the EU is a good thing, 30 percent believe it would be bad, while 32 percent said it would be neither good nor bad. The majority of Serbian citizens, 56 percent, believe that the country would on balance benefit from membership, while 39 percent believe it would not.

While 32 percent of respondents have a positive image of the EU, 34 percent have a negative image and 34 a neutral one. The majority of Serbian citizens, 51 percent, are pessimistic about the future of the EU; the attitude in EU member countries is more optimistic (60 percent). Asked how attached they feel to the EU, 75 percent of Serbian respondents said they feel no attachment. The current situation in the country received a descriptor of poor from 60 of respondents in Serbia, while 38 consider it good, which is on a par with sentiments in the EU.

However, 55 percent of Serbian respondents consider the financial circumstances of their household as good, in contrast to 75 percent in the EU. When asked about their trust in institutions, 39 percent of respondents in Serbia were disposed to trust the government, and 59 percent were disposed not to. The corresponding percentages in EU member countries were 37 and 59 percent on average.