Thewesternbalkans
Majority of citizens of Montenegro – 71.3% support the country joining the European Union, while nearly 22.7% oppose Montenegro’s EU bid, according to a survey conducted by local polling agency DAMAR Institute between May 16-23. The remaining 6% of the polled said they have no clear position on the topic.
The Montenegrin government recently adopted a set of laws on corruption, judiciary and media freedom designed to speed up the country’s European Union accession progress. The government, led by the pro-European “Europe Now” party of prime minister Milojko Spajić, said the laws are vital for meeting the interim benchmarks in negotiation chapters 23 and 24, as well as for receiving a positive Interim Benchmark Assessment Report from the EU.
DAMAR’s survey results also showed that the ruling party of prime minister Spajić attracted the support of 22.8% of the polled, ranking as the most popular party in the country. It was followed by the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists, founded by Montenegro’s former leader Milo Djukanović, with 21.1%.
According to the survey, Montenegro’s membership in NATO is supported by 53% of citizens while 39.4 % are against it and 7.6 % have no opinion on the topic. Montenegro joined NATO in 2017.
Comment: The support of the citizens of Montenegro for the country’s accession to the European Union is constant and high, shows the survey results for the last few years.
Despite that, the results of DAMAR latest survey marked a slight decline compered to the same period last year when the support for EU membership reached a record high level of 79.3% (strongly and somewhat support), according to a survey commissioned by the EU Delegation to Montenegro and conducted by the De Facto agency.
The IRI’s public opinion poll, carried between February and March 2024, also shows a little higher support for Montenegro’s EU membership – to the question “If a referendum were held today on your country joining EU, how would you vote?”, 79 % of respondents answered that they would vote to join the EU.
Concerning the support for NATO membership the results are very close. The IRI’s survey shows 59% of “very positive or somewhat positive” assessment of the country membership in NATO.
