Opinion Survey 2020: Regional Overview

The EU NEIGHBOURS east project, in collaboration with ACT LLC, carries out opinion polls in the EU’s six Eastern partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) on an annual basis.

According to the 2020 survey:

• 49% of Eastern partner countries’ citizens have a positive perception of the European Union (EU) – a rise of 4% from the baseline of 2016.
• 70% of EaP citizens consider that the relations between the EU and their country are ‘good’.
• 57% of EaP citizens are aware of the EU’s financial support, and 53% of them believe that the support is effective – a rise of 10% since 2016.
• More than half (53%) of EaP citizens who are aware of the EU’s financial support are able to identify at least one specific programme financed by the EU in their country – a significant increase +18% compared to 2017.
• The European Union is the most trusted international institution, and the only one trusted by the majority (60%) of EaP citizens. Trust is higher in Georgia (69%), Ukraine (66%), Moldova (63%) and Armenia (60%) and lower in Belarus (45%) and Azerbaijan (41%)

The purpose of the annual surveys is to investigate and understand better the opinion and the level of awareness that the citizens of the EU’s Eastern partner countries have about the European Union and the EU cooperation with their country. They cover the following broad topics:

• General perceptions about the EU
• Values associated with the EU
• Assessment of EU relations with the home country
• Awareness of financial support provided by the EU and assessment of its effectiveness
• Sources of information
• Country evaluation and future expectations

The field work for the survey took place between February and March 2020 (before COVID-19 crisis) and was based upon face-to-face interviews among a representative sample of 1,000 people per country.

Country specific reports and factsheets are available at the following links:

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Georgia

Republic of Moldova

Ukraine

To find out more about EU-Eastern partner countries cooperation and partnership, go here: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.