Today, the European Commission published a new special Eurobarometer survey showing that young Europeans strongly support EU enlargement.

In the Western Balkans, the highest support is in Albania (91%) and North Macedonia (69%), while respondents in Serbia show the lowest support in the region — 33%.

Overall, around two-thirds of respondents aged 15 to 39 in the Union agree that (potential) candidates should join the EU once they meet the necessary conditions, and 56% are in favor of further EU enlargement and consider it beneficial for their country.

According to respondents, the main advantages of EU enlargement are related to security and defense, a stronger economy and competitiveness, and the EU's global influence. However, 67% of citizens say they do not feel well informed about enlargement.

Surveys were also conducted in candidate and potential candidate countries, and overall they show general support for EU accession. In the Western Balkans, the highest support is recorded in Albania (91%) and North Macedonia (69%), while respondents in Serbia show the lowest support in the region — 33%. In the Eastern Neighbourhood, Georgia and Ukraine show 74% and 68% support respectively.

Albanians also have the most positive image of the EU (82%), while Serbia has the lowest percentage (38%).

In Moldova, more than half of citizens have a positive image of the EU (55%), while this percentage is lower in Ukraine (49%) and Georgia (43%).

In Turkey, a similar survey showed support for EU membership at 49.9%, while 50.7% of citizens have a positive opinion of the EU.

The results of the survey will help the Commission in its efforts to engage the public in the EU, candidate countries, and potential candidate countries on EU enlargement policy.

They will also be useful for the Commission's work on better communicating the progress made, including as part of the annual reporting cycle on enlargement. | BGNES