FPRI BMB Ukraine: Majority of Ukrainians want to join the EU

FPRI BMB Ukraine: Majority of Ukrainians want to join the EU
60% of Ukrainians want to join the EU and only a quarter are opposed, says a new poll. In the west of the country 84% are in favour but in the east only 46% support the idea. / wiki
By FPRI BMB Ukraine March 27, 2021

According to a recent survey from the Razumkov Centre, 59% of Ukrainians are in favour of their country joining the EU, while 26% are opposed. That said, the polling results show significant variation when broken down by region, age group and political leaning.

Western Ukrainian respondents showed the highest support for EU accession, with 84% in favour and just 8.5% opposed. Among respondents from central Ukraine, 63% are in favour and 19% are opposed. In the country’s east, 46% of respondents don’t want to see Ukraine join the European Union, compared with 38.5% that do. In the South, opinion is split, with 41.5% respondents for and 42% against.

Ukraine’s young people also show significant support for EU integration, with 76% of those aged 18 to 29 in favour of joining the union, compared with 44% of people over 60. That said, it’s worth noting that the share of respondents in favour of joining the EU is greater than the number of those opposed across all age groups.

Asked how they would vote in a hypothetical referendum on EU accession, 59% of all respondents said they would vote “yes” among those who definitely intended to vote, this figure rose to 80%. Interestingly, 96% of pro-EU respondents said they would vote in such a referendum, while only 46% of EU opponents said they would cast a ballot (an almost equal share, 47%, said they wouldn’t vote in the referendum at all).

Among European Solidarity supporters, 91% said they would vote “yes” in a referendum on joining the EU, while 5% said they would vote “no.” The vast majority of Servant of the People’s electorate was also in favour 78% (versus 13% who were opposed). Most Batkivshchyna supporters, 60% would also vote “yes.” Unsurprisingly, 73% of respondents who support the pro-Russian Opposition Platform For Life said they would vote “no.”

At the same time, Ukrainians aren’t overly optimistic about the future of their country’s relations with the European Union. Indeed, 39% of respondents expect relations to remain unchanged, while 26% believe they will improve, and 10% expect things to deteriorate. The share of “Euro-optimists” was highest among Servant of the People voters (48%), followed by European Solidarity supporters (38%).

 

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