Although the crisis has changed the euphoria with which Slovenians joined the European Union, when 86.64 percent voted for EU membership in the 2003 referendum, the majority still believe it was a good decision, and the number of euroskeptics is less than a third, according to a survey on the EU conducted by the Faculty of Applied Social Studies from Nova Gorica.
When asked whether Slovenia should remain in the EU or exit the integration, 63 percent of respondents answered that it should stay, while 30.6 percent said it should leave, Slovenian media reported. A similar ratio of public sentiment was obtained by the pollsters in response to the question of whether it would be better to remain in the European Monetary Union (EMU) and keep the euro while following the anti-crisis measures being adopted at the EU level, or to exit the eurozone and return to the old Slovenian national currency, the tolar, which would allow for the conduct of an independent monetary policy.
In the survey, 60.4 percent of respondents expressed support for staying in the eurozone, while 34.2 percent favored leaving and reintroducing the Slovenian tolar. There seems to be more euroskeptic tendencies among the youth, who are among the main victims of the crisis due to high unemployment. The survey showed that among the youth, the percentage of those who see the way out of the crisis in leaving the EU is higher than the average, at 36.7 percent.
