Perceptions of the EU in Armenia: Evolving attitudes 2009 - 2010
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www.enpi-info.eu Armenians see EU as important partner Poll shows increasing importance of ghting corruption Almost three quarters of Armenians see the European Union as an important partner, with almost six in ten (58%) having a positive image of the EU . These ndings are drawn from the third in a series of opinion polls carried out at six-month intervals between Decem- ber 2009 and November 2010. The polls questioned 400 members of the Armenian general public, as part of an EU-funded survey of attitudes towards the EU , carried out across the Neighbourhood partners. The November 2010 survey also nds that human rights, absence of corruption, rule of law and peace and security top the list when respondents are asked to select the single most important value, identical to the previous polls. More and more Armenians also identify ghting corruption (53%) as a key challenge for the country, overtaking ensuring healthy economic growth (50%, down from 58% a year earlier), while they are also less worried about security and de- fence (41%, down from 50%). Good relations Most respondents feel that Armenia and the EU have a good relationship , with the number fairly stable since the rst poll was conducted. Almost seven out of ten respondents (68%) assert that in general, relations between the EU and Armenia are very or fairly good, down from 77% in June 2010 and 78% in December 2009. The poll also nds that fewer people believe that Armenia has beneted from EU policies toward their country, (55%, seven percent less than in June 2010 and 14 percent less than in December 2009). The top ve characteristics that best represent the EU are: human rights (47%, up from 39% in June 2010 but down from 50% in December 2009), rule of law and transparency (40%), individual freedom (36%) and democracy (36%), with the latter three gures more or less similar to the previous polls. The gure for absence of corruption (40%) is up a striking 26 percentage points in six months, while there is an increase of 16 points over the same period in the number of respondents who selected honesty as representative of the EU (35%). EU involvement in Armenia The number of respondents who feel the EU has an appropriate level of involvement in Armenia remains stable at 66%, while the majority (71%) say the EU is an important partner. Ther e has been a steady decrease of Armenians who feel that the EU can bring peace and security to their country (70%, down from 80% six months earlier and from 84% a year ago) and a sharp decrease over six months of those who affirm that the EU helps the promotion of democracy through its cooperation activity (73%, down from 82% in June 2010 and from 79% in December 2009). At the same time, however, an increasing number of people feel that the EU promotes good governance (44% +16 points in a year), and promotes peace and stability in Armenia (43% +5), indicating perhaps that people feel the EU has contributed to an improving situation and that there is less need for future involvement. This is conrmed by the fact that security and defence is seen as less of a challenge for the country than it was a year earlier. Knowledge of the EU More than two in ve respondents say they are familiar with the EU , a similar gure observed in the preceding two waves. As before, some facts about the EU are more widely known than others in Armenia. Two thirds of respondents say they are aware that the EU has its own ag, although this gure is 8% lower than in June 2010. More than four out of ten respondents say they are aware that the EU provides Armenia with nancial support for development programmes. Far fewer Armenians however are able to correctly say if the EU consists of 25 Member States. Only one in ve knows that the euro is not the common currency of the EU. About the project The results are part of the EU-funded Opinion Polling and Research (OPPOL) project, funded under the 2007-2010 ENPI regional information and communication programme. Three quantitative waves of opinion polls were carried out; the rst quantitative wave was carried out in December 2009; the second wave took place in June 2010 while the third took p lace in November 2010. They summarize the outcomes of400 interviews with members of the general public in Armenia. The project aimed to generate better information about awareness, understanding and perception of the European Union and the role it plays in the partner countries. T hese reports were carried out across the countries beneting from theEuropean Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) – the main nancial mechanism through which assistance is given to the European Neigh- bourhood Policy (ENP) Partner Countries, as well as Russia. This publication does not represent the official view of the EC or the EU institutions. The EC accepts no responsibility or lia- bility whatsoever with regard to its content. Series: Perceptions of the EU in Neighbourhood Partner countries p.1 Armenia ENPI East countriesArmenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine ANNUAL TRENDS
