PODGORICA – Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro presented the most recent opinion poll reveals a continuing positive attitude towards the EU and Montenegro’s accession process, with a very high support of over 76% for EU membership among the decided voters who would turn out at the referendum.
“This is an important message for politicians, be they in the Government or in the opposition. The vast majority of your citizens want this country to become part of the EU. This should be the strongest motivation for all political parties to actively engage in supporting Montenegro’s EU agenda and the reforms that need to take place on this path”, said the EU Ambassador to Montenegro Aivo Orav at the presentation of results of public opinion survey on Montenegro’s EU integration process and accession.
The results show that citizens of Montenegro have an overall positive attitude toward the European Union, given that as many as 61% of respondents have a generally positive attitude towards the Union – which is higher than in any of the previously conducted polls. Also, when it comes to the number of citizens who are absolutely or predominantly supportive of Montenegro’s membership of the EU, this year’s research is the first of the three conducted so far in which this figure exceeds 60%, and in fact amounts to 62.4%.
Montenegro’s Minister of European Affairs, Aleksandar Andrija Pejović, said that the results of the latest poll show that the efforts invested by the EU, the Government of Montenegro, and their partners, including the Parliament, state bodies and civil sector, paid off. “In Montenegro, we have a steady growth of support for EU integration, but what may be even more important, is that this rise in support is followed by better understanding of this process”, said minister Pejović.
According to the poll, there is an ever-decreasing number of citizens who find the information on EU accession to be incomplete and partial, while the Government remains to be perceived as the most responsible for informing citizens on these issues.
A stable majority of almost 60% believe that EU membership will be beneficial to citizens in Montenegro. The poll also showed that citizens expect EU accession to bring most benefits to the youth, the unemployed, farmers and entrepreneurs. Regarding the topics that are of interest to Montenegrin citizens, they want to know more about the impact of EU integration on their daily lives.
Reflecting on this data, Ambassador Orav said that we also need to make sure that all people in Montenegro are aware of the support the EU is providing to contribute to the better quality of their life. “With its various funding tools, the European Union is by far the largest investor in Montenegro. In the period until 2020, we have allocated over 270 million euros to support your country’s reforms”, said Orav.
The poll was conducted by DeFacto agency for the EU Delegation to Montenegro, during November and December 2016. Key findings of the poll are available here, or the official webpage of the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro.