ACT: 90% of Georgians View EU Membership as Future of Country’s Development
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
ACT, a research and management consulting company, conducted a survey on Georgia's candidate status in the European Union, in which 802 respondents were interviewed between June 11-16.
According to the survey, the majority of respondents have optimistic expectations about the status of EU candidate and an unconditional perception of the benefits of the European choice.
ACT says that for 90% of Georgians, EU membership means the future of the country's development.
The vast majority of respondents have no doubt that the status of an EU candidate - as a path to full membership in the EU - is important: this is the opinion of 84% of respondents. The number of those who have a slight candidate status for EU membership does not exceed 11%.
However, every second respondent expects EU candidate status in the coming months (50%). 33% do not hope to get the status, while 17% of respondents could not answer the question.
To the question - if the country will receive the status of a candidate for EU membership, whose credit it should be, the answers showed how discredited the political class is in the country and how citizens remain self-reliant. In particular, in case of obtaining the status of a candidate for EU membership, the largest share of the poll - 40% will see the merit of the people. 20% of the respondents speak about the role of the Georgian government. The role of parliament, the country's prime minister and the president as a whole is 14%. 9% of respondents emphasize the role of Western/European partners.
If the country does not receive the status of a candidate for EU membership, the Government of Georgia will be responsible for 4 out of 10 respondents (38%). According to 16% of respondents, the Parliament of Georgia, the President, the Prime Minister and Bidzina Ivanishvili are also responsible for the current situation. 12% of respondents also see the guilt of opposition parties.