European Parliament elections: Half of Bulgarians intend to vote – Eurobarometer
Were this year’s European Parliament elections to be held next week, 50 per cent of Bulgarians declared themselves likely to vote in them, according a poll by Eurobarometer, the results of which were released on April 17.
This is seven percentage points lower than the findings of an equivalent poll in February-March 2019, and is significantly lower than the 71 per cent European Union average.
Across the EU, those who declared themselves likely to vote in the European Parliament elections were 10 percentage points higher than in February-March 2019.
Like all other EU member states, Bulgaria is to hold scheduled European Parliament elections in June 2024, in the case of Bulgaria simultaneously with early parliamentary elections.
Forty per cent of Bulgarians said that they were interested in the European Parliament elections and 59 per cent said that they were not, with one per cent answering “don’t know”.
Across the EU, 60 per cent said that they were interested and 40 per cent said that they were not.
Bulgarians, asked which topics should be priorities in the election campaign, cited the fight against poverty and social inclusion as the leading one, followed by support for the economy and job creation, and public health.
Asked which value the European Parliament should defend after the June elections, the largest share named peace – with that matching the EU-wide answer – followed by democracy, and respect for national identities, cultures and traditions in the EU member states.
For 46 per cent of Bulgarians, the EU had a positive image, 19 per cent a negative image and 33 per a neutral image. Those who saw it having a positive image were two percentage points down on an equivalent poll in September-October 2023.
Across the EU, the EU had a positive image among 47 per cent, a negative image among 17 per cent and a neutral image among 36 per cent. Those who saw it having a positive image were two percentage points up on the September-October 2023 poll.
Fifty-two per cent of Bulgarians said that EU membership had benefited the country, down five percentage points compared with September-October 2023.
Thirty-two per cent said that Bulgaria had not benefited from EU membership, the same figure as in September-October 2023, while 16 per cent said “don’t know”, an increase of five percentage points compared with the previous poll.
The Eurobarometer spring survey was done from February 7 to 27 2024, involving 1035 face-to-face interviews.
Please support The Sofia Globe by signing up to become a subscriber to our page on Patreon:
Become a Patron!
