ZAGREB, Feb 19 (Hina) - Almost 80 percent of Croatia's citizens support the country's joining the European Union, it was said at Monday's news conference, organised on the occasion of the latest survey on the citizens' attitude toward
the EU, conducted by the European Integration Ministry. As many as 78.5 percent of citizens support the process of Croatia's admission to the EU, which is a slight increase in relation to a previous survey, conducted in July last year, when support for admission to the EU was voiced by 77.6 percent of respondents. The ministry conducts opinion polls on the attitude of citizens toward the EU twice a year, with an interval of five to six months. The survey, the results of which were presented today, was carried out by the Centre for Market Research in December last year and it included 1,000 respondents. "Croatia is a country which on its path toward the EU demonstrates the hi
ZAGREB, Feb 19 (Hina) - Almost 80 percent of Croatia's citizens
support the country's joining the European Union, it was said at
Monday's news conference, organised on the occasion of the latest
survey on the citizens' attitude toward the EU, conducted by the
European Integration Ministry.
As many as 78.5 percent of citizens support the process of Croatia's
admission to the EU, which is a slight increase in relation to a
previous survey, conducted in July last year, when support for
admission to the EU was voiced by 77.6 percent of respondents.
The ministry conducts opinion polls on the attitude of citizens
toward the EU twice a year, with an interval of five to six months.
The survey, the results of which were presented today, was carried
out by the Centre for Market Research in December last year and it
included 1,000 respondents.
"Croatia is a country which on its path toward the EU demonstrates
the highest level of support for that process. I hope we will be able
to successfully continue governing that process and keep this high
level of support," European Integration Minister Ivan Jakovcic
said. Jakovcic was particularly glad that 84 percent of citizens
aged between 15 and 44 supported Croatia's admission to the EU.
The major difference between the July and December surveys concerns
the citizens' attitude toward regional cooperation. The July study
showed that 54.9 percent of citizens supported such cooperation,
whereas support for regional cooperation in the December survey was
voiced by 65.4 percent of respondents. This increase of 10.5
percent was most probably the result of the fact that the survey was
conducted after the Zagreb Summit. At the same time, the number of
those who fear that Croatia would partially lose independence and
sovereignty by joining the EU did not increase and remained at one
third of all respondents.
"We have persuaded the citizens that regional cooperation is not a
bogey and that Croatian authorities support regional cooperation
but not regional fate, namely, that they support the individual
approach," Jakovcic said.
In the period between July and December last year, the number of
citizens who believe the media are providing the sufficient
quantity of information about the EU increased, too, as did the
general interest of Croatian citizens in information on the EU.
Jakovcic announced for this year a communication strategy aimed at
providing citizens with relevant information on the EU.
(hina) rml