May 28 (CTK) – Czechs are more Eurosceptic than people in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, according to the result of a poll released by the organizers of the three-day Globsec security conference that ends in Bratislava today.
The poll, which was conducted from February to April 2017, showed that a majority of people support the European Union in all of the above mentioned Central and Southeast European countries except for the Czech Republic. The camp of those who would like to leave the EU is largest among Czechs.
According to the poll, 35 percent of Czechs view the EU positively and 26 percent view it negatively. Forty-one percent said the Czech Republic should remain a EU member, while 29 percent said the country should leave the bloc.
In reaction to the poll, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka who took part in Globsec said the Czech Republic profited from the EU entry. He said the Czech public is critical of the EU due to the incapability to promptly deal with the massive migration crisis.
“Europe was incapable of protecting its external borders, it watched conflicts that subsequently generated huge migration waves. All this worsened the image of Europe in terms of security and our capability to face terrorist attacks,” Sobotka told journalists.
Sobotka said the Czech Republic profited from joining the European Union. “We have the lowest unemployment rate in the EU. We have managed to use the European funds to modernise our infrastructure. There were investments that would not come unless we were in the EU,” he said.
kva/mr
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