According to the research conducted by the Czech Public Opinion Research Centre (CVVM), more Czechs trust the European Union than thsoe who do not, however, when it comes to individual EU institutions, such as the European Parliament or the European Commission, distrust prevails among people.
Compared to the same research from last April, this year’s result does not differ significantly.
In July, 50 percent of Czechs trusted the European Union and 45 percent did not. The rest of the respondents were unable to decide on a single answer in the survey.
In the case of the institutions that fall under the union, distrust prevails over trust. More than a third of respondents trust the European Parliament and the European Commission, however, almost half of the respondents do not trust them.
Czechs show the highest levels of distrust for the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Council, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Approximately a quarter of Czech citizens expressed trust in them in the survey while the proportion of people distrusting them was around two-fifths of respondents.
“However, it is necessary to note that in the case of these functions within the EU, there is a high proportion of those in the Czech public who do not know these representatives at all, which may affect the overall evaluation,” warned the CVVM.
Czechs’ confidence in the UN and NATO fell significantly
The United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are trusted by an absolute majority of the Czech population. In the July survey, 55 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the UN and 54 percent in NATO. In the case of the UN, 32 percent of respondents took the opposite position while in the case of the alliance, it was 34 percent.
Compared to last April, the Czechs’ confidence in the UN and NATO fell significantly, by eight and seven percentage points, respectively.
“In the case of the UN, this is a third lowest value since the beginning of the measurement in 2003,” said the CVVM. The current value of confidence in NATO is statistically comparable with the results from 2009 to 2011.
The survey took place from July 18 to 29. It involved 972 people aged 15 and over.
Title image: A man holding Czech and EU flag attends a protest in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Hundreds of people have been protesting in the Czech capital what they say is a chaotic response of the government to the pandemic of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
