Seventy-two per cent of Bulgarians approve of the country’s EU membership according to the National Public Opinion Centre

Fears sparked by the country’s EU membership are more and more specific than hopes. The main fears are of price hikes - 30 per cent, and of general impoverishment - 16 per cent. The latter is the result of expectations of wages remaining the same against the background of rising prices making it impossible for people to meet their basic needs. Such fears were expressed by 4 per cent of the respondents.

The NPOC also registered fears of sanctions for failure to meet EU requirements, fears of having to meet new requirements in all areas and fears of losing national identity strengthened by a sense of inequality among the EU member countries both at institutional level and in terms of living standards. There are also fears that young and qualified Bulgarians will leave the country which will further deepen the demographic crisis.

Only one in four Bulgarians has no fears regarding Bulgaria’s EU membership. This group prevails among the men, the younger generation (aged under 30), the inhabitants of larger cities and the well-to-do.

Forty per cent of Bulgarians are optimistic regarding Bulgaria’s membership of the EU. Their hopes are associated with possibilities to travel across Europe freely and to stay, work and study abroad, with rising living standards in Bulgaria and the application of tested European values and models in different areas of public life - labour relations, law and order, health care, education, social rights.

Bulgarians aged between 18 and 39 are most inclined to avail themselves of the opportunity to travel without visas in Europe, the survey found.

According to 5 per cent of Bulgarians, Bulgaria’s accession to the EU will guarantee law and order and life in this country will become more peaceful. Another 5 per cent expect unemployment to decrease as a result of the country’s EU membership, making it easier for them to find jobs.

Forty-four per cent of the respondents see no concrete advantages of Bulgaria’s full membership of the EU and 16 per cent claim they cannot say. These are mainly people aged over 50, of lower education and the poor.

From the longterm point of view positive expectations dominate over scepticism regarding EU membership. Forty four per cent expect their life to improve against 29 per cent who expect their life to deteriorate as a result of EU membership. Fifteen per cent do not expect their life to change after January 1, 2007.

BTA