BELGRADE, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- A research published on Tuesday by the Ministry of European Integration of Serbia showed that 52 percent of Serbians would support the country's accession to the European Union (EU) at a referendum.
According to the research which interviewed more than 1,000 people in December last year, 24 percent of the people said they would vote against the membership, while 12 percent are not sure how they would answer to the question: "How would you vote if a referendum was held tomorrow asking you to declare if you support Serbia's membership or not".
However, some 65 percent of the people interviewed think that the reforms required by the EU membership should be conducted regardless of the accession, "for the well-being of the citizens and creating a better and well-arranged Serbia".
Asked who was the biggest donor to Serbia from the year 2000 on, 24 percent said that it was the EU, while the remaining part of the public selected Russia, China, Japan and other countries.
However, the research reveals official data showing that the EU and its members donated 4.31 billion euros to Serbia since 2000, and represent biggest donors to the country. Individually, the EU Commission donated 2.96 million euros, Germany gave 357.5 million euros, Sweden allocated 232 million euros and Italy donated 191.5 million euros.
Some 19 percent of people think that the membership in the EU would increase people's chances to find employment, 15 percent think it would provide better perspective to the young people, while 13 percent think that this is an opportunity to bring the country into the state of order, the ministry concludes.
In comparison, more than 80 percent of citizens of neighboring Montenegro support their country's EU integration. Serbia and Montenegro lead in the process of the European integration in the Western Balkans, according to a recent research. (1 euro = 1.23 U.S. dollars)
