THE EU: Before the cheering and the speeches of leaders about enlargement on May 1st, it is important to ask just how do the citizens of the new members view the European Union, and their membership of it, writes Adrian Langan
The clear votes in favour of the EU in the referendums held in the new member-states last year demonstrated that joining the EU is popular and deeply welcomed right across the 10 new states. The latest survey shows that 52 per cent see it as a good thing to join the EU, with 29 per cent unsure whether it is good or bad and 12 per cent seeing it as a bad thing.
The fact that so many of the population are unsure on the matter is hardly the best news for the EU - though 31 per cent of citizens in the existing member states don't know if the EU is good or bad.
It is interesting to note that when you look at one of the states due to join in the next few years, Romania, an enormous 81 per cent of the population see the EU as a good thing. It would appear that familiarity breeds, if not contempt, then slightly cooler ardour for the European project.
A breakdown of the figures reveals some interesting trends about the categories of people within the new states that support the EU. Men are more likely than women to view their country's membership as a good thing.
Levels of education also play a powerful part as to how a person views the EU. Support levels for the EU in the new member-states are lowest among those who left school before 15 and is highest among those who left full-time education in their 20s. The broad trends here are similar in the new and existing member states.
These trends inform most of the arguments that you continually hear about the EU. One side puts forward the case that support for the EU rises as you know more about it and what it does; the other side argues that its support among certain groups is low because the EU is not focused on the needs of these groups.
It is at once both depressing and reassuring to note that the same debates we hear in Ireland on these issues will be heard over and over in each of the new member-states as well.
Too often the debate on enlargement has focused on what 'they' will get from 'us'. The people of the new states have something to say about that.
Some 61 per cent of them believe that the EU will be culturally richer for them joining - and with Krakow, Prague and Budapest about to become part of the EU, who would argue they are wrong? Fifty-nine per cent of people believe they have a lot to offer the EU and around two-thirds of people believe their membership will make the EU a more important player in the world, and the more countries that are in the EU, the greater the chances for peace and security in Europe.
That said, 30 per cent of people believe that joining the EU will lead to greater unemployment in their country. It would seem it is not only here in Ireland that people are scared of losing jobs to other countries.
Regardless of the details of economic, security or other policies, a huge majority of people (79 per cent) in the new states are proud of being European.
It is interesting to note, however, that 12 per cent from Cyprus, 10 per cent from both Lithuania and Estonia, and 9 per cent from Latvia responded in the latest opinion survey that they do not consider themselves European in any sense.
The legacy of past conflicts and disagreements is clearly not yet fully resolved in the new Europe.
Adrian Langan works in PR and is a long-time pro-EU activist