Prague, Nov 30 (CTK) – Nearly all Czech citizens (93 percent) are concerned about the possible worsening of the security situation in Europe in the next 20 years, according to a poll that the STEM agency carried out before the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and released on Monday.
In 2007, 62 percent expressed these concerns, the pollsters said.
Three fourths of Czechs criticised the way in which member countries of the European Union secured their defence, while eight years ago only one third expressed such criticism.
The number of people who think that a threat to Europe may come from the East increased from 57 percent in 2007 to the present 71 percent.
Though right-wing voters tend to believe that Russia poses a threat to Europe more than others, a majority of left-wing voters are concerned about a possible threat from the east as well, STEM writes.
The Czechs feel very different about the security situation in Europe now, compared with their opinions in 2007. However, it is unclear whether their stances on EU security were changing gradually or whether they result from the present situation, STEM writes.
Other polls showed that most Czechs were afraid of refugees due to the current migrant wave. The Paris terrorist attacks that claimed 130 lives in November further increased the tension in society.
The portion of people believing that Western Europe can defend itself without U.S. assistance decreased from 53 percent to 45 percent over the past eight years. The pollsters write that the answers to this question clearly relied on the political orientation of the respondents in 2007, while now the political orientation did not seem to influence the answers.
The poll was conducted on 1109 people on November 2-11.
