The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) published the findings of the 2021 Balkan Barometer, which looks into perceptions and expectations of citizens, as well as entrepreneurs, in the Western Balkans on topics ranging from EU integration to regional cooperation, digitalization, etc.
According to the survey, citizens support regional cooperation, with 77% of them agreeing that this might produce better political and economic realities, while 62% see membership in the EU as “something good” for their economy.
49% believe that unemployment is the biggest problem that the economy is facing, compared to 45% from last year, while this perception amongst the younger generation is even higher, climbing to 63%.
The General Secretary of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu, said that trust among citizens on regional interaction has increased.
“There is an increase on the general level of support among citizens in the region on the regional cooperation process, as well as, a rise in the belief that EU membership is a process that would help our countries improve”, said Bregu.
Furthermore, Bregu asserts that dragging the accession process “does no good” neither to the trust of the citizens, but also to the bloc itself.
“Obviously the longer the process is dragged the more chances are that there will be more distrust. Nothing good comes from elongating the process, neither to the European Union nor the Western Balkans”, she added.
The Balkan Barometer is supported by the European Union and has been held since 2014, with data from over 6,000 citizens, and 1,200 enterprises from across the region.
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