BRUSSELS – The WeBalkans project published annual opinion polls on the perception of the European Union in the Western Balkans last week. The results show a generally positive image of the EU and high support for membership in the entire region, apart from Serbia.
Fieldwork took place between February and April 2026, based on face-to-face interviews with representative samples of 1,000 people per country in the Western Balkans, WeBalkans stated. The surveys targeted the general population aged 15 or higher.
According to the surveys, the EU has a positive image among 82% of citizens of Albania. More than 60% of citizens of Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia also have a positive image of the EU. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 53% of citizens have a positive image of the EU, while in Serbia, only 28% of citizens have a positive image of the EU.
In Serbia, 38% of citizens have a neutral image of the EU, and 32% have a negative view.
Trust in the EU is also high across the region apart from Serbia, reaching 92% in Albania, 83% in Kosovo, 79% in North Macedonia, 73% in Montenegro and 72% in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trust in the EU in Serbia, according to the survey, is around 40%.
The survey also asked the respondents about their trust in other global actors. Trust in the United States of America is high in Albania and Kosovo, where it is above 80%, as well as in North Macedonia, where 62% of citizens trust the US.
Trust in the United States is lower in Montenegro (47%), BiH (32%) and Serbia (16%).
On the other hand, trust in Russia is at 58% in Serbia, 47% in Montenegro and 37% in North Macedonia. In BiH, around 28% of citizens trust Russia, while the trust in Albania and Kosovo is below 10%, the survey shows.
Citizens of Montenegro also tend to trust China, with levels of trust reaching almost 65% in that country. Trust in China in Serbia stands at 54,5% and in North Macedonia, it is at 47,5%. The levels of trust in China are somewhat lower in Albania (41%) and BiH (36%), while in Kosovo, it is below 10%.
When citizens are asked whether they support the EU accession of their countries, a clear majority say they either strongly support it or somewhat support it. In Serbia, 31% of respondents strongly or somewhat support EU accession, 27% neither support nor oppose it, while 40% somewhat or strongly oppose it.
