BRATISLAVA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Some 74 percent of adult Slovaks approved of Slovakia's European Union (EU) membership, while 58 percent approved of NATO membership, Olga Gyarfasova of the Slovak Public Affairs Institute (IVO) announced Friday.
The IVO survey was carried out by Focus agency on a sample of 1,012 respondents between May 31 and June 4.
"Strong support for EU membership, however, could also be a reaction from the Slovak public to turbulent developments in Britain and Brexit, to the increased presence of a European agenda in Slovak public debate on possible future scenarios or a clear rejection of the EU-disapproving stance of the far right," claimed Gyarfasova.
Regarding NATO membership, it has always been a more delicate issue for the Slovak public, noted Gyarfasova.
The survey results suggest, however, that there's no need to maintain a low profile, PR-wise, on the issue of Slovakia's NATO commitments like the recent stationing of Slovak troops in the Baltic region, and the creation of a NATO liaison command in Slovakia with an eye towards not stirring up expected anti-NATO public sentiment.
"On the contrary, open and confident communications by politicians can contribute towards a positive embracing of NATO," added Gyarfasova.
