Polish trust in EU growing weaker
Only 50 percent of Poles trust the European Union due to lengthy disputes with Brussels, according to the latest Eurobarometer poll commissioned by the European Commission.
In the past, despite its government’s poor relationship with the EU, Poland has always been one of the most enthusiastically pro-EU states, but, according to the new poll, this may be changing.
"Years-long disputes with Brussels have done their job. Today, only 50 percent of Poles trust the European Union," the Rzeczpospolita daily wrote on Friday, quoting the results of the survey.
"This is only slightly better than the EU average of 49 percent, but far behind Portugal, where 78 percent of the population trust the EU, Ireland (74 percent), or Lithuania (70 percent).
"Thirty-eight percent of Poles do not trust the EU and 12 percent do not have an opinion," the daily reported.
"Poland has traditionally been enthusiastic about a Europe of united states since the day it was included in Eurobarometer polls," the daily wrote, adding that this was in the past now.
The daily put the blame for this situation on the continuing disputes between the Polish government and Brussels regarding judicial reform and the dependence of EU funds on the rule of law.
According to Rzeczpospolita, the percentage of Poles who trust the EU has gone down by 6 percentage points over the last year. "This is the largest drop in the entire EU," the daily wrote, adding that, apart from Poland, trust in the EU had decreased only in Austria (by 3 pps to 41 percent) and Denmark (by 1pp to 62 percent).
The daily also wrote that the condition of the Polish economy could be another reason for this drop in trust in the EU.
"Despite the fact that Poland belongs to a group of EU countries which have gone through the coronavirus pandemic suffering relatively minor damage, Poles do not share this feeling," the paper wrote.
According to Eurobarometer, 63 percent of Poles described their country's economic condition as bad, and only 34 percent said it was good.
