Study: Two thirds of Estonian residents deem EU presidency a success
According to the results of a recent study ordered by Estonia's Government Office, 61 percent of the Estonian population considered the half-year Estonian presidency of the Council of the EU, which concludes at the end of the month, to be a success.
The results of the study, "Awareness and attitude of the population regarding the issues of the European Union," also indicated that 79 percent of Estonian residents support the country's membership in the EU, an increase of two percent on year, according to a government press release.
"The moderate increase in support of the EU might be due to the Estonian presidency of the Council of the European Union, as it was successful and media feedback has been mainly positive," said Kalev Pettai, head of research at Rait Faktum & Ariko, the company to conduct the study.
A total of 52 percent of survey respondents said that they were informed of activities related to the Estonian EU presidency. Those between the ages of 60-74 and those with higher education deemed themselves informed of the presidency more often than average, with 61 and 60 percent, respectively, responding that they were well or rather well informed.
61 percent of the Estonian population considered the Estonian EU presidency to be a success. Another 15 percent deemed it unsuccessful, while a quarter of respondents did not have an opinion on the subject.
Asked which area Estonia focused on the most during its presidency, slightly more than half of respondents indicated that the primary focus was on the development of the digital area.
"I am glad that people show a lot of support for the European Union and care about the issues Europe faces," Director for EU Affairs of the Estonian Government Office Klen Jäärats. "Awareness of Estonia's activities and goals has also improved thanks to the Estonian Presidency, which gives us hope that people feel that their opinions matter."
57 percent of Estonian residents deemed Estonia's activities in the EU successful, while 27 percent considered them unsuccessful. Respondents between the ages of 15-29 (65 percent) or 60-74 (64 percent), ethnic Estonians (65 percent) and those with higher monthly incomes (€800 or more per family member per month) were more likely to deem Estonia's activities in the EU successful.
The survey within this stage of the study, in which a total of 1,027 Estonian residents between the ages of 15-74 were surveyed by phone, was conducted from November to December.
Editor: Aili Vahtla