Slightly over half of the Romanians think that Romania’s accession to the European Union (EU) has brought benefits, according to an INSCOP survey conducted between March 21 and March 28. Almost a third (31.2%) of respondents believe that, on the contrary, the country had no benefits from joining the EU, and 18.4% didn’t answer.

According to INSCOP, the fact that most Romanians consider that their country’s integration into the EU brought benefits represents a significant base of support for the European project.

However, the percentage is lower compared to the results registered in May 2015, when 65.5% of the questioned citizens said that Romania’s accession to the EU came with benefits. This might mean that some of Romania’s obligations in relation to the EU, such as the refugee quotas imposed by the European Commission, made some Romanians to reassess the EU accession's benefits.

The study also reveals that 33.7% of Romanians think that both Romania and the other EU member states have benefited from Romania’s accession to the EU. Meanwhile, nearly 30% believe that the membership has brought benefits mostly to the other EU member states.

About 13% of respondents say that Romania benefited the most from joining the EU, and 9.9% believe that no one had something to win from this. The remaining 13.5% didn't answer.

When it comes to a possible union with the Republic of Moldova, 48.8% of Romanians believe that an eventual union should be made through referendums organized simultaneously in the two states. Meanwhile, almost a quarter of respondents say that such a union should take place based on decisions voted by the two countries’ Parliaments. More than a quarter didn’t answer.

Almost 40% of respondents believe that Romania would have several advantages from an eventual union with the Republic of Moldova, and 28.5% say the opposite. Almost 32% didn’t answer.

The study was conducted on a sample of over 1,000 people, at the request of Adevarul newspaper.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com