site.btaOver Half of Young Bulgarians Intend to Vote in Upcoming European Parliament Elections - Survey

More than half of young Bulgarians (54%) intend to vote in the upcoming June 9 European Parliament elections, according to a Eurobarometer survey presented on Monday by the European Commission. By comparison, on average in the EU, 64% of young people with the right to vote have expressed their willingness to take part in the elections.

A total of 21% of young people in Bulgaria and 13% of other young people in the EU say they will not exercise their right to vote in the selection of future MEPs. Asked what they expect from the EU, European young people put peace and international cooperation first (37% on average, 32% in Bulgaria), the fight against poverty second (34% in the EU, 38% in Bulgaria) and the protection of human rights and European values third (30% in the EU, 26% in Bulgaria).

Some 25% of Bulgarian and other European young people feel that the EU has a strong impact on their daily lives, while 42% in the EU and 46% in Bulgaria think this is the case to some extent. In Bulgaria, 56% of young people (49% in the rest of the EU) say that in the last year they have not participated in activities for the benefit of society - petitions, protests, sending letters to politicians, etc. Most often those who have taken such action have focused their efforts on defending human rights and equality, as well as nature.

When asked if they thought they had enough online skills to distinguish misinformation, 32% of Bulgarian young people expressed confidence that they could cope and 45% expected to cope if necessary. By comparison, in the rest of the EU, an average of 28% feel completely confident and 45% somewhat confident.

The survey was conducted online between April 4 and 12. A total of 26,189 EU citizens aged between 15 and 30 took part in it.