Poll: More Moldovans prefer integration with EEU to EU, NATO membership

“If a referendum on Moldova’s accession to NATO was held next weekend, 34%
would vote against it, 29% in favor of it, and 14% would not come to the polling
stations,” Nicolae Bodean, the director of the Political Analysis Center, said
in presenting the poll outcomes.

“The poll showed that 39% of the respondents favor Moldova’s accession to the
European Union and 42% the Eurasian Economic Union. In our view, the results
have been affected by the fact that a lot of Moldovan citizens have relatives
working in Russia, and they believe Moldova would be better off in the EEU. In
addition, the events in Ukraine have also influenced the answer,” Bodean
said.

The poll showed that only 25% of the respondents described relations with
Russia as good, while 79% believe Moldova has good relations with Romania, 71%
with the EU, 70% with the U.S., and 67% with Ukraine.

Polls that the Public Opinion Barometer has conducted twice a year over the
past 10 years have shown that the number of supporters of Moldova’s integration
with the EU has been consistently declining. The last such poll conducted in
late April showed that 50% of Moldovans preferred their country’s integration
with the Customs Union and only 32% with the EU.

The number of supporters of Moldova’s European integration has been smaller
than those who favor EEU integration for the first time in recent years.