More than 70% of residents believe Latvia has benefited from EU – Eurobarometer

RIGA – About 73 percent of Latvian residents believe Latvia has benefited from its EU membership, mostly underscoring new job opportunities, economic growth and security, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey.

The majority or 49 percent of respondents said that the EU provides new job opportunities for Latvian citizens, 44 percent said that Latvia’s EU membership promotes the country’s economic growth, and 34 percent of respondents said that the EU helps to maintain peace and strengthen security. The same share of people believes that EU membership improves Latvia’s cooperation with other countries, while 30 percent say that it helps to improve the level of living for Latvia’s residents.

At the same time, just 2 percent of respondents said that Latvian residents have a significant influence in relation to EU decision.

More than half or 52 percent of respondents said that the European Parliament should defend human rights in the whole world, but 44 percent said that it is important to protect freedom of speech. More than 35 percent said that solidarity is the value that should be protected in the EU.

Gender equality, dialogue among cultures and religions were pointed out by 17 percent of residents as values that should be protected.

The Eurobarometer survey polled 27,474 residents in 28 member states, including 1,001 residents of Latvia between September 8 and September 26, 2018.