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Greater support to reforms in process of EU accession
Belgrade,
8 July 2011
Director of the EU Integration Office Milica Delevic said today that 53% of citizens support Serbia's membership in the EU, and that percentage of support to reforms that are carried out in the process of Serbia’s European integration is growing.
Presenting the results of the most recent public opinion polls on support for EU membership, Delevic said at a press conference that the research carried out on 16-23 June showed that if tomorrow a referendum were called with the question "Do you support Serbia's EU membership?" 53% of citizens would answer positively, 24% negatively, while others would not vote or not respond.
She noted that support to EU membership is smaller than before because in December last year the support was 57%, but she added that the current level of support is still high.
The level of support is dropping as the accession process goes ahead because citizens see that there are concrete benefits, but also costs and that they will also have to give up or change something.
The latest research showed that the percentage of those who believe that reforms should be carried out not because of the EU, but because of ourselves is growing, from 78% in December last year to 86% recorded in June.
She said that the readiness of citizens to change their life and working habits in order to enter the EU is growing, and the number of those who see EU accession of Serbia as loss of national identity and influence of small member states is decreasing.
The percentage of citizens who believe that the country’s leadership is the one that hampers the country’s entry in the EU is falling, while more and more citizens believe that people’s mentality and unwillingness to change is a greater obstacle on the road to the EU.
Also, more and more citizens see Kosovo as one of the conditions which the EU sets before Serbia for its accession.
When asked which reforms are the most important in Serbia, 38% responded that that is the fight against corruption, 12% reform of agriculture, 9% reform of health system and greater protection of human rights, while 7% said that that is judiciary reform, Delevic added.
Delevic said that the number of citizens who believe that Serbia would get through the crisis more easily if it were an EU member is rising, as well as the number of those who think that the EU will manage to overcome current problems and that good future is ahead of it.
In the research "European orientation of Serbian citizens – trends”, which had 1017 respondents older than 18, 43% responded that EU membership would be good for Serbia, 23% that it would be bad, and 34% that it is not either good or bad, Delevic stated.
The research also showed that 45% of respondents see themselves as citizens of Serbia first of all, and only 7% see themselves as citizens of Europe.
She noted that support to EU membership is smaller than before because in December last year the support was 57%, but she added that the current level of support is still high.
The level of support is dropping as the accession process goes ahead because citizens see that there are concrete benefits, but also costs and that they will also have to give up or change something.
The latest research showed that the percentage of those who believe that reforms should be carried out not because of the EU, but because of ourselves is growing, from 78% in December last year to 86% recorded in June.
She said that the readiness of citizens to change their life and working habits in order to enter the EU is growing, and the number of those who see EU accession of Serbia as loss of national identity and influence of small member states is decreasing.
The percentage of citizens who believe that the country’s leadership is the one that hampers the country’s entry in the EU is falling, while more and more citizens believe that people’s mentality and unwillingness to change is a greater obstacle on the road to the EU.
Also, more and more citizens see Kosovo as one of the conditions which the EU sets before Serbia for its accession.
When asked which reforms are the most important in Serbia, 38% responded that that is the fight against corruption, 12% reform of agriculture, 9% reform of health system and greater protection of human rights, while 7% said that that is judiciary reform, Delevic added.
Delevic said that the number of citizens who believe that Serbia would get through the crisis more easily if it were an EU member is rising, as well as the number of those who think that the EU will manage to overcome current problems and that good future is ahead of it.
In the research "European orientation of Serbian citizens – trends”, which had 1017 respondents older than 18, 43% responded that EU membership would be good for Serbia, 23% that it would be bad, and 34% that it is not either good or bad, Delevic stated.
The research also showed that 45% of respondents see themselves as citizens of Serbia first of all, and only 7% see themselves as citizens of Europe.
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