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EC Representation head: 10 years after accession, 57pct of Romanians trust EU
A share of 57 percent of Romanians trust the European Union ten years after the country's accession, European Commission Representation head Angela Cristea said on the occasion of the presentation of opinion polls results about the ten years since Romania's and Bulgaria's accession to the EU.
"It is an opinion poll we conducted together with the Representation in Bulgaria, because the two countries, Romania and Bulgaria, have ten years on 12 January 2017 since they have been EU member states, and we wanted to see how the citizens of the two countries see this thing. (...) If we were to take out three key messages from these results, they are the following: in the first place, Romanians become active European citizens and believe their opinion is heard, starting to be heard in Brussels," Angela Cristea told a press conference on Monday.
She pointed out that, in the second place, the poll reveals "a perfect lining of the Romanians' wishes to those of the European Commission, as expressed by President Juncker in September, namely a clear preference for the scenario six on the future of the EU: the unity for all scenario."
"In the third place, if we think about the working programme of the European Commission in the coming two years, now called Road to Sibiu — because in the first half of 2019 Romania will hold the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the first high-level meeting, the first EU summit after the UK leaving it, will take place in Sibiu — , we see that for Romanians the main priorities for this Presidency should be the cohesion, agricultural, security and migration policies, as well as the accession to the Schengen area and the CVM lifting," Cristea said.
According to the opinion poll the European Commission presented on Monday to a press conference, the majority of Romanians consider the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council is a highly important moment.
The poll revealed that 51 percent of the respondents consider that Romania's holding the Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2019 is a highly important moment and 62 percent consider that during the 6-month term at the EU helm Romania must promote national interests and facilitate EU-wide consensus on key policies, acting as an impartial mediator.
However, the Romanians see both advantages and disadvantages in being a Member State of the EU.
The main advantages include finding a job in a Member State (35%), the access to more goods or markets (33%), and the positive impact of European funds on the region in which they live (30%). Also, the fact that they travel more often to EU countries represents an advantage for 29% of respondents while 28% see the implementation of EU rules and standards as being a good thing.
Other advantages in Romanians’ opinion: a better security of the country (26%), equal opportunities with other European citizens to study in an EU country (24%), gaining confidence (23%) and better infrastructure in Romania (21%).
Some of the European Union’s advantages include good relations between Member States (indicated by 48% of respondents), the respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law (46%), EU’s capacity to promote peace and democracy beyond its borders (41%), the EU’s economic, industrial and commercial power (35%), and the food safety and quality in Europe (34%).
However, when it comes to what the Romanians are worried about, the declining purchasing power due to rising prices comes first for 67% of respondents, followed by the purchase of land by foreigners (57%), the migration of Romanian specialists to other EU countries – also known as brain drain (56%), the fact that the Romanians don’t have equal rights on the EU labor market (53%), the drug and human trafficking (53%), the fact that Romanian companies risk being shut down due to massive imports (52%), and the terrorist threat (49%). Migrants from outside the EU, the competition created by European products that leads to lower prices for Romanian products, double standards for food, and the tense relationship between the EU and Russia are also on the list of disadvantages.
The poll also reveals that 49% of Romanians strongly or partially agree that Romania’s economy has become more stable after the country joined the EU. Meanwhile, the share of those who don’t agree with this statement amounts to 41%. About 38% of respondents agree that Romania has become more stable politically, while more than half disagrees with this statement.
Most Romanians, namely 58%, believe that Romania’s accession to the Schengen area is a good idea while 24% are against it, and 46% think that Romania should adopt the euro, compared to 41% who are against it. However, the same poll reveals that 39% of respondents believe that Romania will never join the Schengen area and 36% think that this will happen in more than two years. Also, 47% believe that Romania still needs more than two years to adopt the euro, and 28% think that the country will never adopt the European currency.
Romania will take over as of January 1, 2019 the six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in a presidential trio that also includes Finland and Croatia. Also attending the event were Minister-delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu and presidential advisor Laurentiu Stefan.
The poll was carried out on more than 1,000 adult Romanians between October 10 and November 3.
Find the full opinion poll (in Romanian): ec.europa.eu/romania/sites/romania/files/sondaj_opinie__romania_la_10_ani_de_la_aderarea_la_ue.pdf