Czechs' trust in EU and European Parliament is rising, says new poll

Prague, Sept 5 (CTK) – Czechs’ trust in the EU and the European Parliament has been slightly increasing since 2016, when it was at a record low, according to a poll conducted by the STEM polling institute in June and released today.

Compared with last year, the trust in the EU rose by 2 percent to 41 percent and that in the EP by 4 percent to 34 percent.

At the time of the Czech EU presidency in 2009, trust in European institutions was expressed by more than one half of Czechs.

STEM has been examining Czechs’ relationship with the EU since 1994. Until 2009, the trust oscillated between 50 and 60 percent.

The record high trust was recorded at the start of the Czech EU presidency in 2009, when the EU was trusted by 60 percent and the EP by 51 percent.

However, then the credibility started falling, down to the minimum in 2016. Also due to the migrant crisis, it declined to 29 and 24 percent, respectively.

Although the trust has been rising since, the EU and EP are still among the less credible ones out of the observed institutions.

STEM analysts said Czechs have been steadily feeling a bigger identity with Europe in the past few years than between 2011 and 2015. Some 71 percent of Czechs feel to be Europeans.

pvr/dr/hol