site.btaBulgarians' Positive Attitudes towards EU Prevail over Euro-skepticism - Survey

Sofia, November 17 (BTA) - Ten years after Bulgaria's full accession to the EU Bulgarians are still among the greatest Euro-optimists, the results of a national representative survey of the Alpha Research agency show. The survey was commissioned by the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria and was conducted between September 16 and 25, 2017 among a sample of 1,021 respondents.

In terms of the prospects for Bulgaria, public support for the country's entry into Schengen is sustainably high (53 per cent), while euro area membership is experiencing significant concerns and polarized assessments (34 per cent approve it and 45 per cent do not).

Since Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, so far, membership approval has been retained within 50 per cent, against 16 per cent disapproval and 34 per cent neutral estimates. Over the ten-year period, the strongest Euro-optimists are the younger Bulgarians with higher education, activity and mobility, who have benefited most from the benefits of membership.

A significant difference has occurred in the public attitudes over the past ten years in the assessment of the effects of Bulgaria's accession to the EU. Surveys at the end of 2008 registered a polarization between expectations of a modest effect of membership and dissatisfaction with the lack of rapid visible change in the country. Efforts to introduce European rules and standards in the different spheres were seen as imposing undeserved restrictions on Bulgaria. Today, at the end of the tenth year, however, the balance is markedly positive: in a ratio of 51 per cent: 26 per cent of Bulgarian citizens believe that the country has gained membership. The private assessment is more restrained: 19 per cent of those living in the country think that their prospects are increasing and 15 per cent are perceived as losers.

The biggest fears in 2007 (47 per cent) were that Bulgarians would be unequal on the labor market due to the limited access in the first years (39 per cent), that Bulgarian specialists would emigrate abroad (37 per cent), and that foreigners would start buying land (37 per cent). Ten years later, some of these fears are forgotten, and the share of those fears is twice as low. The widely discussed issue of dual quality food standards in the short run has taken the first place among concerns (60 per cent), followed by a decrease in purchasing power (50 per cent). At the same time, common problems across Europe, such as trafficking in human beings and drugs (47 per cent), immigration flows and terrorist threats (44 per cent) are also considered to be key to Bulgaria.

Bulgarian society, however, is firmly opposed to the scenarios that imply a fragmented development of the EU. One out of every two adult Bulgarians supports the option for a stronger EU presented by EC President Jean-Claude Juncker in September 2017, including through greater integration of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area and the euro zone. Similarly, scenarios where the EU is developing as before (31 per cent) or strengthened through single trade, foreign policy, defense union, single social standards (29 per cent) are also endorsed.

Sixty-one per cent believe that the EU must also act longer term by putting efforts, first of all, to achieve economic growth and higher employment. Every third is of the opinion that health, migration, foreign policy, and security must remain the focus of European policy. About a quarter of the Bulgarians, mainly the younger generations, bring out education, the protection of civil and social rights. Throughout the ten-year period of membership, support for the accession of the Balkan countries remains sustainably high (over 50 per cent).

The survey also compares the results from a similar survey in neighboring Romania. The residents of both countries are optimistic that the positive development of the European Union will continue.