Citizens’ positive about Georgia’s ties with the EU, report says

The Georgian population is looking fondly towards its European future and many feel the European Union (EU) supports and contributes to the development of the country, results of an annual survey reveal.

The Spring 2014 EU Neighbourhood Barometer for Georgia survey was released today its results showed the perception of the Georgian population had shifted slightly in the past 12 months and moved closer toward the EU.

The survey, based on 1,000 interviews conducted in May and June, found that 69 percent of respondents felt the EU was an important partner for Georgia and 56 percent believed the EU and Georgia shared sufficient common values to be able to cooperate.

The key findings of the EU Neighbourhood Barometer, which surveyed the population to gauge society’s knowledge and perception of the EU, noted almost ninety percent of those polled saw the EU in a positive (40%) or neutral (48%) light, compared with just nine percent who perceived the EU in a negative way.

More than half of those surveyed (58%) felt the EU’s support contributed immensely to Georgia’s development.

The majority of Georgians (68%) felt the EU had good relations with their country (compared to 53% across the ENPI East region), while merely 16% felt relations were poor.

The poll revealed a high level of trust among Georgians in international institutions. The majority of those asked (61%) said they trusted the EU, followed by NATO (59%) then the UN (54%).

Respondents were generally more pessimistic about their lives compared to the previous poll conducted early this year, with 69% dissatisfied with the life they had – a rise of 3% compared to the previous poll – although the degree of satisfaction rose among Georgia’s younger and more educated respondents, the report said.

Meanwhile 42% of people agreed enough information was available about the EU and 47% considered this information was easy to understand.

The EU Neighbourhood Barometer project, funded under the DG Development and Cooperation (EuropeAid) Regional Communication Programme, conducted opinion polls and monitored the media in 16 partner countries and territories who participated in the European Neighbourhood Policy, plus Russia.