Nearly 80 Percent of Montenegrins Support EU Membership

(Patria) - Support of Montenegro's citizens for the country's accession to the European Union (EU) is constant and high, according to a survey conducted for the EU Delegation by the De Facto agency in November 2023.

As announced, almost four-fifths of Montenegrin citizens, 78.5 percent of them, support Montenegro's membership in the EU.

Regardless of whether they personally support membership or not, 76 percent of citizens are convinced that Montenegro will become a member of the European Union.

The EU Ambassador to Montenegro, Oana Kristina Popa, said that the high support of Montenegrin citizens for EU membership is a reason for encouragement for the Montenegrin authorities.

- Such strong and stable support from citizens for membership of almost 80 percent should be a driving force for all political actors to accelerate reforms on the path to EU accession.

Our common goal should not only be membership, but also the improvement of living conditions for citizens along the way and the promotion of EU values as the foundation of a prosperous democratic society - Popa emphasized.

The survey showed that citizens see the EU as the most important political, economic, and trade partner in the future, while 50 percent see the EU as Montenegro's largest financial donor.

"If a referendum on Montenegro's membership in the EU were held now, 86.8 percent of citizens would turn out to vote, and of those who voted in the referendum, almost 90 percent would answer affirmatively to the referendum question," the statement said.

When asked how they would assess the speed at which Montenegro is moving towards membership in the European Union, 19 percent of citizens believe that the process is moving very quickly, while 35.8 percent answered as quickly as circumstances allow.

As many as 40.8 percent believe it is not moving fast enough or is moving very slowly.

- Although support for accession to the European Union in Montenegro remains strong, we can observe certain shifts from the so-called hard to soft category of supporters.

The observed trend warns of the importance of preserving one of the few, if not the only, issues on which there is consensus in Montenegro - pointed out Olivera Komar from the De Facto agency.

The majority of citizens, 65.5 percent, believe that things in Montenegro are moving in the right direction, but only 11 percent are completely convinced of this.

The biggest problem of Montenegrin society, according to the research results, is the economic situation.

This is followed by unemployment and corruption. Citizens' concerns about the state of healthcare and the environment are also increasing.