Eurobarometer: 56 percent of Europeans support the expansion of the European Union
Brussels – A total of 56 percent of Europeans support the expansion of the European Union, according to a new Eurobarometer survey. Support is particularly high among young people: approximately two-thirds of respondents aged 15 to 39 believe that potential candidates should join the EU as soon as they meet the necessary conditions. In the Czech Republic, only 43 percent of respondents supported expansion. This was reported by the European Commission.
The majority of respondents (56 percent) believe that their own country would also benefit from the future expansion of the European Union. In the Czech Republic, 41 percent of respondents think so. Among the most frequently mentioned benefits according to Europeans are a stronger global influence, a larger market for businesses in the EU, more job opportunities, and greater solidarity and security.
However, respondents also expressed concerns related to migration, corruption, and crime, as well as the financial costs of expansion. They emphasized the importance of ensuring that candidate countries adhere to the principles of the rule of law, combat corruption, and protect fundamental rights. 67 percent of respondents also stated that they do not feel well informed about the expansion of the European Union.
The Czech Republic emerged from the survey as a country whose citizens do not strongly support the expansion of the EU, regardless of which country it concerns. The highest number of respondents, specifically 43 percent, would support the accession of Montenegro if it met all membership conditions. At the EU level, this was 51 percent of respondents. 40 percent of Czech respondents would support the accession of Serbia, 38 percent the accession of North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 35 percent the accession of Moldova. Turkish and Georgian membership would be supported by 29 percent of respondents, and the accession of Kosovo and Ukraine by only 28 percent. In the entire EU, however, 52 percent of respondents supported Ukraine’s accession to the EU. (September 2)
