BRUSSELS – According to the newest edition of the Standard Eurobarometer, citizens of the Western Balkans generally have high trust in the European Union, with Serbia once again being an outlier.
The survey was conducted in March and April and published on 8 May.
Trust in the European Union is highest in Albania, where it reaches 80%, compared to only 16% of citizens who do not trust the EU. The results from Kosovo are similar – 75% of citizens tend to trust the EU, while 17% tend not to trust it.
In Montenegro, 65% of citizens tend to trust the EU, while 31% tend not to trust it. In North Macedonia, the level of trust is 60%, while the level of distrust is 38%.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the trust in the EU is slightly lower – 56% of citizens tend to trust the EU, while 40% tend not to trust it.
Meanwhile, in Serbia, only 36% of people tend to trust the EU, while 59% tend not to trust it.
At the level of the EU itself, 51% of citizens tend to trust the Union, while 43% tend not to trust it.
The citizens across the region were also asked whether their country’s membership would be a good thing or a bad thing.
Once again, citizens of Albania have the most positive attitude towards the EU, with 84% saying it would be a good thing and only 5% saying that it would be a bad thing.
In Montenegro, 66% of citizens say that EU membership would be a good thing and 10% that it would be a bad thing (the rest of the citizens regard it as “neither a good nor a bad thing”). In North Macedonia, the numbers are similar: 62-9.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 48% of citizens believe EU membership would be a good thing, 27% believe it would be a bad thing and 25% that it would be neither a good nor a bad thing.
In Serbia, only 35% of citizens believe it would be a good thing, 30% believe it would be a bad thing and 35% that it would be neither a good nor a bad thing.
