EU: Ireland is more enthusiastic about European Union membership than any other member-state, according to a Eurobarometer opinion poll, published yesterday.
Some 87 per cent of Irish respondents said that EU membership had benefited the country, compared to an EU average of 53 per cent. And 75 per cent in Ireland said that they had a positive image of the EU, compared with an EU average of 50 per cent.
Some 77 per cent of Irish people said they were pleased that the country was in the EU, compared to an EU average of 56 per cent. Only Luxembourg had a bigger majority in favour of EU membership.
The poll showed support for the EU and its institutions rising throughout the union, although Britain remained the least enthusiastic member-state. Confidence in the European Commission and the European Parliament showed an increase.
Ireland, along with Belgium and Luxembourg, is among the countries expressing the greatest confidence in the commission and the parliament. Some 70 per cent of Irish people said that they trusted the European Parliament and 66 per cent expressed confidence in the commission.
More than two-thirds of European citizens are in favour of the EU Constitution, which was signed in Rome during the period during which polling took place. Support for the constitution is highest in Belgium, Slovenia, Germany and Luxembourg and lowest in Denmark and Britain.
Some 61 per cent of Irish respondents supported the constitution, with 13 per cent opposing it and 26 per cent - an unusually high figure - undecided. The poll showed a shift of 5 per cent towards support for the constitution throughout Europe, but the commission warned that it should not be viewed as an indicator of the outcome of national referendums on the issue.
"It translates solely the extent to which people support the concept of a constitution for the European Union, and not an assessment of the content of the text proposed for ratification in the member-states, and even less an indication of voting intentions in a possible referendum," the commission stated.
Irish support for the EU's security and defence policy is, at 56 per cent, more than 20 points below the EU average. Some 62 per cent of Irish people support a common foreign policy for the EU - 7 points below the EU average.