Prague, May 29 (CTK) – Most Czechs or 84 percent are of the view that the country’s EU membership causes the rise in red tape and the establishment of useless offices, but it also offers more opportunities, according to a CVVM poll conducted on some 1000 respondents in April and released on Monday.
About the same share of people agree that they have better opportunities to study, work and live thanks to the European Union.
The poll also shows that most people do not fear that the EU would threaten Czech culture and they appreciate European subsidies.
Three-fifths of the respondents do not agree that the Czech Republic would have better laws thanks to its EU membership.
Seventy-four percent of the polled agree with the view that European legislation brings more restrictions.
Almost three-quarters agree that EU membership has caused the outflow of qualified people who seek jobs in other EU member states.
Most Czechs or 52 percent agree that Czech culture is not threatened over the EU, while 39 percent express the opposite view.
The respondents are also aware of the benefits of subsidies from European funds. Seventy-four percent agree with the statement about a huge inflow of subsidies from Brussels to Prague.
Fifty percent agree that EU membership means a higher prestige of the Czech Republic in the world, while 41 percent disagree with this view.
A half of Czechs also agree that EU membership means a higher military security for the country, while 36 percent disagree.
Compared with a similar poll from last April, the share of those who can see a direct connection between EU membership and the rise in the country’s prestige in the world has increased by 5 percentage points.
Czechs also appreciate EU subsidies more than last year, the pollsters said.
