NW 21:21:01 26-06-2020
VE2120NW.111
111 POLITICS - POLL - EU - NATO

Exacta Poll: Bulgarians' Approval
of EU Unchanged,
Approval of NATO Rises


Sofia, June 26 (BTA) - The Bulgarians' approval of the EU has remained unchanged, while approval of NATO has increased so far this year, said Exacta Research Group, quoting findings of a nationally representative poll taken on June 6-13. The face-to-face quota sample comprised 1,005 people aged 18 or over in 123 clusters in 89 settlements.

Approval/disapproval of Bulgaria's EU membership stood at 71 and 19 per cent respectively. No significant change in public attitudes has been registered since the end of 2019. A breakdown by party affiliation shows that 96 per cent of GERB voters and 49 per cent of Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) voters approve of Bulgaria's EU membership. Approval among the supporters of other parties is higher than that registered for the BSP. Sofia residents, who are better informed about EU policies, are more critical towards Brussels than the country average.

Compared with the end of 2019, approval of NATO membership has increased by 4 percentage points. In June, approval stood at 60 per cent, as against 25 per cent disapproval. Again, BSP supporters showed the least approval of NATO membership - a mere one in three said they approved.

Exacta noted a shift in the attitudes of supporters of the power-sharing United Patriots coalition, made up of the VMRO and NFSB parties, who are becoming increasingly supportive of Bulgaria's EU and NATO membership. The coalition's participation in governance has helped to change the voters' attitudes, and the policies pursued by Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov, the VMRO leader, are a further incentive, said the analysts. RY/DD//