Some 22 per cent of respondents in a survey said they feel European to a large extent, 45 per cent feel European to a small extent, and 32 per cent do not feel European at all. ASSA-M Director Mihail Mirchev presented the empirical sociological survey of public attitudes at the end of the second year of Bulgaria's EU membership on Thursday.

The survey was conducted in early December among 1,650 people aged 18 to 60. It was proposed by Iliana Yotova MEP (Party of European Socialists) and was first conducted in December 2007.

At 33 per cent, the respondents who feel European are most numerous in Sofia, compared with some 20 per cent elsewhere. The percentage of those who feel European is higher among young people. It is 34 per cent for middle-class respondents, as against 15 per cent for working class respondents.

Bulgaria has benefited from its EU membership according to 8 per cent of respondents, 10 cent foresee benefits in the next couple of years, and 20 per cent in the next seven to ten years. Thirty-four per cent say the benefits outweigh the disadvantages; of them, 46 per cent say that Bulgaria will see benefits in the next two to three years, and 55 per cent expect benefits in the next seven to ten years. In contrast, 36 per cent of respondents say the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, and 22 per cent are firm that Bulgaria has lost from joining the EU.

Asked if they or their family benefited from EU membership, 16 per cent of respondents answer in the affirmative, 10 per cent say there were both good and bad things, and 29 per cent say membership was neither good not bad for them. A total of 23 per cent of respondents say Bulgaria's EU membership was bad for them.

Source: BTA