European Poll: 52 Percent of European Citizens Want Croatia in the EU

Croatian entry in the European Union is supported by 52 percent of EU citizens, more than any other Balkan country, show the results of the public opinion poll (Euro-Barometre), published last Monday (July 19) on the web-site of the European Commission. Croatia is the only country from the region that received over one half of positive answers and is followed by Bulgaria, with 50% support, Romania and the Ukraine (45% each), Macedonia (43%), B&H (42%), SCG (40%), Albania (36%) and Turkey with 35% of the polled. The Croatian EU membership is opposed by 34% of the polled, with 14 percent undecided. The support to Croatia is even greater if we separated just the results from the 10 new member states, in which the support is at 72%. The continued expansion of the EU is supported by one half of the polled, and it is greater with the new member states. For the first time, this Euro-Barometre survey was conducted on a sample of Croatian citizens, 66 percent of whom support the further expansion. It is interesting, however, that only 28 percent of Croatian citizens actually hold the EU in positive regard, which is the lowest percentage in Europe, together with the UK citizens. Analysts explain that such an attitude is caused by the postponement of Croatia’s negotiations for EU integration, which has caused a great dissatisfaction in the public.

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