site.btaCentral, Eastern Europe Sees Increase in Pro-Western Sentiment - Poll

A survey of public opinion in Central and Eastern Europe, conducted by the Bratislava-based NGO GLOBSEC, reports an increase in pro-Western sentiment in the region as a whole. Bulgaria is a notable exception in some respects, according to an analysis of the poll results made and presented on Friday by the Institute for Global Analytics (IGA) in Sofia.

The conference was dedicated to developing effective strategic communications for state and societal sustainability, which the organizers pointed out is crucial, when misinformation is abundant, especially against the backdrop of Russia's war against Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas, said Dr. Christopher Nehring, Senior Research Fellow at the IGA.

The survey was conducted by GLOBSEC in Bulgaria and seven other European countries - Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. In Bulgaria, a representative sample of 1,000 respondents was surveyed in March this year.

The survey reports a growing support for EU and NATO membership and an awareness of the threats of authoritarian regimes among Central and Eastern European societies. At the same time, people in the region remain vulnerable to misinformation.

The analysis reports some differences in public sentiment in Bulgaria compared to the other surveyed countries: lower attachment to the EU and NATO (although support for membership in both organisations remains steadily above 50%); less critical attitudes towards Russia; the lowest population share convinced that Moscow and Beijing pose a threat; the highest support for leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin (32.1%), General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping (35.6%) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (48.3%); and entrenched conservative and anti-Western views.

Some 71% of Bulgarians polled want the country to remain part of the EU, the second lowest result after Slovakia's 64%. Despite high support for EU membership, 70.7% of Bulgarians feel that the EU dictates to Bulgaria what to do without Bulgaria having a say in this process. More than half of all Bulgarian respondents, 55.6%, agree with the statement: The introduction of the euro will infringe on our country's sovereignty and impoverish our economy.

Regarding the attitude towards NATO, the majority of Bulgarian respondents (57.8%) want the country to remain part of the Alliance. This share, however, is the lowest in Bulgaria. Bulgarians are in last place, when it comes to solidarity with allies - only 44% of respondents want Bulgaria to intervene if a NATO ally is attacked. Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that an attack on one Alliance country will be considered an attack on all countries of the organization.

More Bulgarians (25.6%) think Russia is a more important strategic partner than the United States (19.9%). The IGA explains the preference for Russia in part by shared history and cultural proximity between Bulgaria and Russia.

Only 34% of Bulgarians perceive Russia as a threat. Hungary is the only other country where this share is less than one-half with 48%. This compares with 88% of respondents in Poland and 84% of respondents in Lithuania.

Some 85% of Poles and 79% of Lithuanians believe that Russia is responsible for the war in Ukraine. This notion is shared by only 44% of Slovaks and 40% of Bulgarians. With 17%, Bulgaria has the highest share of respondents who see Ukraine as an oppressor of the Russian-speaking population. One in three Bulgarians believes that the West provokes Russia to wage the war in Ukraine.

Bulgaria is the only country, where support for providing military equipment to Ukraine is less than one half - 49%. This compares with 93% in Poland and 89% in Lithuania. Support for Ukrainian refugees is lowest among Bulgarian respondents with 52%. Slovakia is next to last with 59%, while Hungary, Latvia and Poland have the highest rates of support with 90, 82 and 81% respectively.

Only 31% of the Bulgarians surveyed trust the media in the country. Hungary is the only country polling lower with 27%. Lithuania is on the other side of the scale with 53%.

Participants at the conference in Sofia emphasized the link between distrust in the media and the success of Russian propaganda and disinformation.