Survey in Serbia: Croatia is the main enemy, and Russia is a friend

Croatia is Serbia's main enemy, according to a survey published on Thursday in Belgrade, which shows that most young Serbs are in favor of halting accession to the European Union, while older people, by a two-thirds majority, support European integration, reports the Patria News Agency. 

19.7 percent of respondents consider Croatia to be Serbia's enemy, 18.1 percent name the USA, and Albania is considered an enemy by 12.1 percent of citizens who participated in the survey conducted by the Institute for European Affairs.

According to 41.3 percent of respondents, Russia is Serbia's friend, 12 percent perceive Greece as a friendly country, and 9.6 percent China.

The results of the survey "Serbia After Brexit - Where Citizens See Serbia" showed that the majority of citizens are in favor of European integration, and 53 percent believe that despite Great Britain's exit from the EU, Serbia should maintain its policy of joining the Union.

However, Tibor Moldvai, a political scientist at the institute, points out that 51 percent of young people aged 18 to 29 are in favor of halting European integration, while 43 percent believe that European integration should continue, reports Beta.

"Older citizens support European integration by an almost two-thirds majority. The main finding of this survey is that young people are more skeptical towards joining the EU compared to older people, and they are also more reserved towards European values," he said.

His colleague Naim Leo Beširi added that "young respondents from rural settlements and those without higher education have more controversial views compared to the rest of the population. Support for Russia is high, and support for European integration is decreasing. The stance towards Kosovo is very strong. Croatia is still considered an enemy, while NATO membership is more supported by women, people from Vojvodina, and those over 60 years old," he said.

One-third of citizens have never visited any EU country, while 92 percent of Serbian citizens have visited Russia. 82 percent of respondents do not support Serbia's membership in NATO, 12 percent support it, while 44 percent of respondents believe that one of the conditions for joining the EU is for Serbia to become a NATO member, the survey showed.

Naim Leo Beširi stated that young people have been showing resistance to European integration for a long time and that the reason is likely "lack of information."