Forty-three per cent of the Bulgarians are of the opinion that the economic state of this country has changed for the worse after Bulgaria joined the EU, while 6.2 per cent experienced positive changes, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the Sociology Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, cited by BTA.

However, most of the respondents, 46 per cent, do not find any changes. Regarding changes in their personal life, 42 per cent of the polled said that their material status changed for the worse; half of the respondents, 50.6 per cent, say that their material status remained the same, while 7.2 per cent pointed out that their material status improved.

According to the poll, in 2007, 11.2 per cent of the Bulgarians specified as very poor the material status of their household, while 32.6 per cent say it was bad. Forty-four per cent specified it as satisfactory, 11.9 per cent as good and 0.3 per cent as very good.

Almost a year after this country's EU accession, Bulgarians feel less Europeans compared to 2004. According to a survey carried out at end-2004, 20.2 per cent of Bulgarians felt Europeans, while at end 2007, their number stood at 10.7 per cent. A total of 34.6 per cent gave to an answer to "a certain extent" in 2007 compared to 38.5 per cent in 2004. In 2007, 40.5 per cent said they did not feel Europeans at all, while in 2004 they were 29.5 per cent.

In 2007, 64.7 per cent of Bulgarians said that a very difficult problem for Bulgarian society was corruption, 52.6 per cent crime and 49.3 per cent the state of economy. According to 45.7 per cent in 2007, unemployment was a difficult issue, while in 2004, 70 per cent said it was a very difficult issue.