Croats’ Trust in the European Parliament Exceeds the European Average

Croatian citizens are more interested in European policies (56 percent compared to the EU average of 54 percent), and they are also better informed about the workings of the European Parliament than the European average (70 percent compared to the EU average of 66 percent).

These are the results of the latest Eurobarometer survey conducted by the European Parliament across the European Union. The Eurobarometer survey revealed the latest trends regarding citizens’ attitudes towards Croatia’s EU membership: 48 percent of surveyed Croats believe that EU membership is a good thing (an increase of three  percent compared to the previous survey conducted at the end of 2014), while only 16 percent believe that membership is a bad thing for Croatia. The public opinion survey involved 28,150 citizens of EU member states aged over 15, and the survey was conducted from September 19 to 29, during a period when migrant arrivals at EU borders and the tragic deaths of migrants were highly present in media reports.

Interest in European policies is increasing and higher than the EU average

Croatian citizens are almost equally divided regarding their interest in European policies. Thus, 56 percent of citizens are interested in European issues, which is two percent higher than the European average. On the other hand, 43 percent of Croats are completely uninterested in EU-level policies, which is two percent lower than the European average of 45 percent.

The level of awareness among Croatian citizens about the work of the European Parliament exceeds the European average. Thus, 70 percent of citizens of the Republic of Croatia have recently come into contact with news and updates from the European Parliament, while this percentage at the European level is 66 percent. Additionally, 40 percent of Croats believe they are fairly and timely informed about the activities of the European Parliament, which is an increase of three percent compared to last year’s Eurobarometer survey. The Croatian average is again higher than the European average, which is 35 percent.

For citizens, EU membership is generally a good thing

58 percent of respondents believe that the voice of an individual Croatian citizen carries weight and importance within the European Union, which is significantly higher than the EU average of 39 percent. However, only 59 percent of Croatian citizens believe that the voice of the Croatian state as a whole is important within the EU (which is eight percent less than the previous year), while on average, 61 percent of Europeans believe that their country’s voice is heard and respected within EU institutions. However, Croats seem to be more optimistic regarding EU membership. 48 percent of respondents stated that Croatia’s EU membership is a good thing, which is three percent higher than the previous year.

Trust in the European Parliament is higher than at the EU level

The European Parliament presents a positive and neutral image for 35 percent of Croatian citizens, which is again 11 percent better than the EU average. However, only 45 percent of surveyed residents of Croatia believe that the European Parliament plays an important role, and this support has fallen by seven percent compared to the previous year, yet it is still higher than the European average (which is 44 percent). Furthermore, Croatian citizens are optimistic regarding their trust in the European Parliament – 43 percent of citizens lean towards high trust in the European Parliament.  The European average is 46 percent.

The most important human rights and solidarity among EU members and with others

The European Parliament promotes certain policies at the European level, but these policies are not equally important to all citizens of the Union, and priority lists vary depending on the member state. According to Eurobarometer, the most important issue for Croatian citizens is poverty and social inclusion (57 percent, while the EU average is 51 percent), followed by the fight against terrorism, taking into account the right to fundamental human freedoms (29 percent, while the EU average is 34 percent), and then issues related to the budget and public health (28 percent). As the most important values that the European Parliament should uphold, citizens of Croatia, like Europeans as a whole, placed the protection of human rights first. Croatian respondents then placed solidarity among EU countries second (39 percent, while the EU average is 32 percent) and solidarity between the European Union and poorer countries (35 percent, while the EU average is 23 percent), while the European average places freedom of speech second and then equality between women and men.

You can view the complete results of the Eurobarometer survey HERE.