Over half of Latvians in favor of creation of EU army

RIGA - More than a half or 59 percent of Latvia's population is in favor of the creation of an EU army, according to the Eurobarometer survey carried out in April this year.

Overall, 55 percent of the EU citizens are in favor of the idea. The support to the creation of an EU army is the highest in the Netherlands and Belgium (both 74 percent) as well as in Lithuania (71 percent). Meanwhile, only 39 percent in the United Kingdom and 40 percent in Sweden approve of the idea. In Estonia, 48 percent of the population is in favor of the creation of an EU army.

Also, 75 percent of the EU citizens are for a common defense and security policy among EU member states. By country, proportions range from 87 percent in Lithuania and Luxembourg and 84 percent in Germany to 57 percent in Austria, 59 percent in Sweden and 64 percent in Italy. As many as 83 percents are for a common defense and security policy in both Latvia and Estonia.

The support to a common foreign policy in the EU is the highest in Lithuania (80 percent), Spain (79 percent) and Germany (77 percent). In Latvia, 66 percent of respondents approve of the idea, and in Estonia, it is 68 percent. The highest percentages of those, who are against a common foreign policy, were recorded in Sweden (55 percent), the Czech Republic (43 percent) and Denmark (40 percent).

At the same time, Sweden showed the highest rate of respondents for whom the term "security" brings to mind something positive (69 percent) while the Czech Republic had the highest rate of those considering security as negative (25 percent). In Latvia, security brings to mind something "fairly positive" for 51 percent of respondents and something "very positive" for 25 percent. In Estonia and Lithuania, 88 percent and 85 percent of respondents respectively chose answers "fairly positive" or "very positive". In the whole EU, 78 percent consider security as a positive concept.