July 24 (SeeNews) - A total of 49% of Serbia's citizens would vote to join the European Union if a referendum on the issue was held tomorrow, the country's ministry for EU integration said on Monday.
If asked "Do you support Serbian membership of the EU?", 49% of citizens would vote "Yes", 27% would vote "No", 13% would abstain from voting and 11% would not know what to answer, according to the results of poll conducted by the ministry for EU integration in June.
The poll was carried out in compliance with the standard Eurobarometer among 1,064 respondents over the age of 18.
In terms of reforms, 66% of those polled said that reforms necessary for EU accession should be implemented regardless of whether the country joins the Union.
A total of 16% of participants in the survey said they consider public health system reforms as most important for everyday life, the fight against corruption and judicial reforms received the support of 15% of respondents each, while reforms in agriculture and public education support from 11% of respondents, each. Consumer protection followed with 9%, environmental protection with 7% and the protection of human rights also with 7%.
As many as 59% of respondents were of the opinion that the problems between Belgrade and Pristina should be resolved, regardless of whether the EU demanded it. The survey showed that more than half of the participants support the government's commitment to continue the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and its readiness to come to a viable solution through cooperation and dialogue.
In terms of the public's view of EU membership, 17% said it would provide more opportunities for employment, 16% view it as the road towards a better future for young people, 14% as an opportunity for freer movement within the EU, and 12% as a chance to improve the overall situation in Serbia.
EU formally opened accession talks with Serbia in January 2014. The country has so far started talks on 10 out of the 35 chapters of EU law and has provisionally closed negotiations on two, namely Chapter 25 - Science & Research and Chapter 26 - Education & Culture.