Ukrainian issue scarcely felt In Eastern EU countries

Brussels – Ukraine? No thanks. Not everyone in the EU has this unconditional support for this country, and indeed in the Eastern countries, former satellites of the Soviet Union, public opinion does not hang in favor of the Ukrainians. It’s the other side of the Eurobarometer survey released today (Dec. 13). The party game wants the European Commission to highlight the data most congenial to itself. The survey conducted between October and November 2023 shows that 60 percent of Europeans favor granting Ukraine candidate status, endorsing Brussels’ choices.

There is an even stronger majority who approve of financial support for Kyiv (72 percent of respondents in all EU member states), and a clear majority of Europeans (61 percent) who approve of providing arms and military support to help in defense against Russia.

There is, however, the other side of the coin. Five member states lack a majority in favor of Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership. These are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia (in favor 46 percent in each country), Hungary (45 percent), and the Czech Republic (37 percent). They are joined by Slovenia, Greece, and Austria, where 51 percent are in favor. A slim majority and a divided public opinion.

Still, there is a tiny portion of the population saying yes to banning Sputnik and Russia Today from EU territory: in Slovakia (46 percent), Slovenia (45 percent), Bulgaria (39 percent), Greece (39 percent), and Cyprus (25 percent).

It does not end there. Because taxpayers in the Czech Republic (48 percent) and Slovakia (50 percent) are the least likely to support Ukraine financially. The lowest appreciation index for loans to Kyiv, after Czech and Slovak, are those of Bulgaria (52 percent) and Romania (56 percent). Sanctions chapter. It is right to impose restrictive measures against Russia, understood as government, businesses, and individuals, for 31 percent of Cypriots, 44 percent of Bulgarians, and 50 percent of Slovaks.

So far it has almost exclusively been pointed to Hungary’s prime minister, Victor Orban, for playing into the hands of Putin’s Russia and holding an anti-Ukraine stance. But from the Eurobarometer survey emerges an Eastern Europe at times even “more Hungarian” than Hungary itself. It also offers a sense of the difficulty that awaits the summit of EU heads of state and government. Public opinion matters in politics. Everyone aims to be reappointed and re-elected, and the will of the citizen-voters cannot always be ignored. This explains the difficulty of the European Council summit which appears uphill.