Standard Eurobarometer 66 (Autumn 2006, Slovak republic)

The Eurobarometer “Standard” is part of wave 66.1 and covers the population of the respective nationalities of the European Union Member States, resident in each of the Member States and aged 15 years and over.

The Eurobarometer “Standard” has also been conducted in the two acceding countries (Bulgaria and Romania) and in the two candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey).

It was the fifth Eurobarometer, which was accomplished after the Slovak republic acceded in to the European Union.

Between the 13th September and the 26^th October 2006, it was carried out wave 66 of the EUROBAROMETER in Slovakia.

Summary

The level of satisfaction with life on the whole in Slovakia is still lower than the European average, although, in Slovakia, from 2003, we can observe moderate but continuous growth in levels of satisfaction. Over the last year, a significant decrease in the number of Slovak citizens who expect worsening of their life on the whole has been observed. Over the last year, a significant fall in the number of citizens who expect worsening of the economic situation in Slovakia in the next twelve months can also be seen.

From autumn 2005, there have been major decreases in the number of Slovaks who expect a worsening of the employment situation in Slovakia. Citizens of the Slovak Republic are, compared with the citizens of the EU25, more optimistic as far as their expectations for the next 12 months relating to the employment situation in their country are concerned. However, as far as expectations relating to their personal job situation in the next 12 months are concerned, Slovaks are more pessimistic than EU25 citizens.

Slovaks assess their country’s EU membership more positively than citizens of the EU25 in general. Slovaks also more markedly than the European average tend to agree with the view that their country has benefited from EU membership. Citizens of the Slovak Republic regard unemployment and the economic situation to be the two most important issues of their country.

Slovaks have a positive view of the European Union also as in regard to its role in maintaining peace in the world, fighting terrorism, the growth of the world economy, protection of the environment and in fighting poverty. Slovak citizens, in comparison with EU25 citizens in general, assess more positively the influence of their country’s EU membership on the national economy and employment. Slovakia traditionally belongs to the group of countries whose citizens assess more positively the situation of the European economy than the situation of the national economy. Slovak citizens, like EU25 citizens, consider the improvement of education and professional training to be the best tools to improve the performance of the European economy.

Slovaks are traditionally among the greatest supporters of the development of European integration towards European political union. A majority of Slovaks, however, insist that two key policy areas – taxation and agriculture – should remain the subject of sovereign decision-making of the Slovak Republic and its authorities. Slovak citizens, however, have great expectations from the European Union in the areas of fighting unemployment and fighting poverty and social exclusion.

Slovakia, since joining the EU, belongs to the countries whose citizens are the greatest supporters of the further enlargement of the Union. Switzerland, Norway, Croatia and Bulgaria are the countries that receive greatest support from Slovak citizens. The only two countries whose EU membership did not receive the support of the majority of Slovaks are Albania and Turkey.

Slovaks agree with the citizens of the EU25 on the ranking of three values that best represent the European Union. These values are democracy, peace and human rights. From the point of view of respondents, the European Union represents at least two out of three most important values of Slovak citizens, namely peace and human rights. In Slovakia, there is the highest proportion, of any of the twenty-five EU member states, of people who have feeling that, in terms of shared values, European Union Member States are very close or fairly close.

Standard Eurobarometer 66

* Standard Eurobarometer66.1, National report-executive summary, Slovak republic eurobarometer 66 en (pdf) .pdf

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