A survey conducted by INSCOP Research on behalf of Funky Citizens shows that most Romanians believe Romania's political direction should be towards the West, namely pro-EU and pro-NATO. Also, most oppose the idea of a Ro-Exit, but over half think that Romania should defend its national interests when they conflict with the rules of the European Union.

According to 87.5% of respondents, the West (meaning EU, US, NATO) is the direction Romania should take in terms of political and military alliances (compared to 77% in January 2022). Meanwhile, 4.1% believe Romania should move towards the East (Russia, China) - down from 10.4% in January 2022, the survey found.

At the same time, considering all the implications on economic and social life, as well as family and personal life, 72.5% of respondents (compared to 54.9% in January 2022) believe Romania's EU membership has brought more advantages, while 21.6% disagree (down from 40.8% in January 2022). 5.9% either didn't know or didn't answer the question.

The statement "In the future, Romania would develop economically better if it were inside the European Union" is supported by 77.3% of respondents (up from 63.2% in January 2022). On the other hand, 15.8% believe that "in the future, Romania would develop economically better if it were outside the European Union" (down from 29.4% in January 2022), while 6.9% don't know or didn't answer.

More than 80% of survey participants believe that the United States and the European Union have a generally positive influence on Romania (up from 61.8% in September 2021). Meanwhile, only 9% of the sample/population think Russia and China have a generally positive influence on Romania (down from 16.5% in September 2021). The percentage of non-responses is 10.6%.

According to the same survey, 57.1% of Romanians think that Romania should defend its national interests when they conflict with EU rules, even if it risks losing its membership status (down from 68.4% in January 2022). A total of 36.3% believe that, as an EU member state, Romania should adhere to EU rules, even if it affects national interests (up from 29.4% in January 2022).

Another important finding was that 88.1% of Romanians oppose the idea of Romania leaving the European Union - a Ro-Exit (up from 71.7% in January 2022), while 9.4% would support such a perspective (down from 25.2% in January 2022).

Also, 88.1% of respondents believe that Romania should not leave NATO (up from 76.2% in January 2022), while 8.1% answered affirmatively to this question (down from 18.7% in January 2022).

Almost 70% of Romanians have a high level of trust in NATO (up from 60.6% in January 2022), and 66.8% have confidence in the European Union (up from 55.9% in January 2022). At the same time, 59.1% of respondents express high trust in the United States (up from 50% in January 2022). 

Trust in Russia is below 10%, with 5.9% of those surveyed stating they trust Russia (down from 18% in January 2022).

The survey was conducted by INSCOP Research on behalf of Funky Citizens. Data was collected between December 16 and 23, 2024, using the CATI method (telephone interviews). The sample size was 1,000 people, stratified multistage, and representative of the significant socio-demographic categories (gender, age, occupation) for the non-institutionalized population of Romania, aged 18 and over.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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