Poll: Most Romanians want union with the Republic of Moldova and that Romania must remain in the EU
Over 70% of Romanians support Romania’s membership of the European Union, and three quarters of Romanians do not want the dissolution of the European Union and want union with Bessarabia, according to chapters four and five of opinion poll entitled “Public Distrust: West vs. East, the rise of the nationalist current in the era of misinformation and the phenomenon of false news ”made by made by INSCOP research in partnership with Check at the command of the think tank STRATEGIC thinking group.
“The perception of the benefits of joining the European Union has been significantly lower than in September 2021, returning to a level before the political crisis at the end of last year. On the other hand, the subject of Romania’s exit from the European Union (RO-Exit), although it remains constant at a support level of 20% and 25%, three quarters of the population rejects both Romania’s exit from the European Union and the idea of disintegrating the Union. . Europeans, the motivations being as pragmatic as possible. Even those who believe that the national interest is a priority over European rules are overwhelmingly of the opinion that it is still in the national interest of countries for Romania to remain a member of the European Union. Overall, we note that overcoming last year’s political crisis, the formation of a broad, stable coalition, but also the feeling of insecurity caused by Russia have revitalized adherence to Euro-Atlantic values and landmarks.“, He thinks Remus Ștefureac, President of Strategic Thinking Group.
Chapter 4: National vs. European
When it comes to advantages vs. disadvantages of Romania’s accession to the EU, weighing all the implications on economic and social life, on families and personal life, 54.9% of those surveyed (compared to 47.2% in September 2021, 56.2% in June 2021 and 61.4% in March 2021 ) about that Romania’s accession to the European Union has rather brought advantages, while 40.8% are of the opposite opinion (compared to 46.1% in September 2021, 35.1% in June 2021 and 35.2% in March 2021). 4.3% do not know or do not answer this question.
Regarding Romania’s exit from the European Union, 71.7% of Romanians oppose ideas for Romania to leave the community bloc, while 25.2% would agree with such a perspective and 3.1% do not know or do not answer.
On the break-up of the EU, 75.3% of respondents would not want the European Union to give in the coming years, while 19% want such a development, and 6.7% do not know or do not answer.
Romanians also attach importance to the EU’s role in Romania’s economic development. statement “In the future, Romania would develop better economically if it were within the European Union” meets the agreement of 63.2% of those interviewed (compared to 57.8% in September 2021, 62.9% in June 2021). At the same time, 29.4% that “In the future, Romania would develop better economically if it were outside the European Union” (compared to 32.9% in September 2021, 27% in June 2021), and 7.5% do not know or do not answer.
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How do Romanians relate to the national interest in the EU context and what do they think about the relationship between European rules and national interests
29.4% of Romanians believe that, as a member state, Romania must comply with Union rules, even when national interests are affected (compared to 27.3% in September 2021 and 28% in June 2021). ). 68.4% for Romania must defend national interests when they disagree with the rules of the European Union, even if it risks losing its position as an EU member state (compared to 68.5% in September 2021 and 64.8). % in June 2021). 2.2% do not know or do not answer.
Of the respondents who have to defend that Romania must defend national interests when they disagree with the rules of the European Union, if it risks losing its position as an EU member state (which area 68.4% of the sample) 72.9% (respectively ). about half of the total population) believe that it is in Romania’s national interest for the country to remain in the European Union. 24.7% (respectively 17% of the total population) believe that leaving the European Union would NOT affect the national interests of the country.
Romania’s admission to the Schengen area
At question “Why do you think that Romania has not yet been admitted to the Schengen area, the free movement zone in the European Union, without border controls, although most European states agree with the accession of our countries?” 42.1% of the population about the fact that our country did not meet all the accession criteria (compared to 43.5% in March 2021), 50.8% are of the opinion that some European states block Romania’s accession for economic reasons (compared to 50 ). , 2% in March 2021), and a percentage of 7.1% do not know or do not answer.
Chapter 5: Economic Patriotism / Nationalism
When it comes to emigration, 77.9% state that they prefer to live and work in Romania, while 21.5% say that if they could, they would prefer to live and work in Europe or the USA. Non-response rate is 0.5%
Regarding the relationship between a multinational company and a Romanian one, 69.9% say they prefer to work for a Romanian company in Romania, while 26% say they prefer to work for a foreign company operating in Romania. The percentage of non-responses is 4.1%.
Ask about the quality of products in the Romanian market, 71.8% of Romanians believe that foreign companies sell on the Romanian market lower quality products than those they care for sell in other countries, while 24.2% are of the opposite opinion. The percentage of non-responses is 4%.
Regarding the union with the Republic of Moldova, 74.5% of respondents answer in the affirmative, 21.1% answer in the negative, and 4.3% do not know or do not answer.
“In the context of resolving the political crisis and concluding the PNRR negotiations with the European Commission, we notice that the parameters that reflect the public perception on the advantages of belonging to the European Union have returned to the quotas of 6 months ago. This perception is maintained at higher rates, especially in the segment of young people in urban areas, with secondary and higher education. The desire to emigrate or to work in a multinational company is obviously stronger in the same segments, a reflection of curiosity, a desire to explore and understand successful socio-economic environments, to achieve a decent income faster and of a benefit of more efficient and qualitative infrastructure such as the educational, administrative, transport and social ones“, He emphasizes Dan Andronache, Vice President of True Story Project.
The sociological survey was conducted between January 11-18, 2022, the method of researching the interview through the questionnaire.
The data were collected by CATI method (telephone interviews), the volume of the stratified multistage sample being 1162 people, representative by significant socio-demographic categories (sex, age, occupation) for the uninstitutionalized population of Romania, aged 18 and over. The maximum permissible data error is ± 2.9% at 95% confidence.
Editorial note: The survey was conducted by INSCOP Research in partnership with Verifield at the helm of the STRATEGIC Thinking Group think tank as part of a research project supported by The German Marshall Fund of the United States and funded by the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation through True Story Project .
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Editor: Marco Badea