Ukrainians prefer entry into the European Union to affiliation to the Customs Union, judging by an opinion poll held by the Razumkov Center in late April.
Some 41.7% of the respondents chose the EU when asked which integration path Ukraine should take, while about a third (32.7%) chose accession to the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. A total of 12.3% opposed accession to either union and 13.3% were hesitant.
Many respondents said they did not have enough information about the European Union and the Customs Union, and only 5.3% claimed they knew a lot about the EU and 4.2% evaluated their knowledge of the Customs Union likewise.
Some 38.6% and 37.6% of the respondents said they had average knowledge of the EU and the Customs Union respectively, while 43.5% and 44.1% said they had little knowledge. A tenth of the respondents (9.5% and 10.9%) said they had no information about the integration unions at all.
The poll shows that Ukrainians received information about the EU and the Customs Union primarily from Ukrainian central television channels (78.5% about the EU and 76.3% about the Customs Union), from local television channels (33.3% and 30.6%), from Ukrainian central newspapers (25.4% and 24.4%), from Ukrainian websites (23.3 and 21%), from Russian television channels (22.7% and 24.4%), from local newspapers (21.5% and 20.3%) and from Russian Web sites (14.7% and 14.5%). Other foreign media outlets are insignificant sources of information.
The respondents were also asked to evaluate cons and pros of the EU and the Customs Union. They dubbed as main advantages of the European Union a high level of social protection of citizens (46.9%), supremacy of law (31.5%), developed democracy (27.1%), financial resources (22.2%), high quality of healthcare (18.6%), as well as scientific and technological development and a low level of corruption.
As for EU problems, the respondents referred to economic instability (34.2%), the unequal economic development of EU member states (31.8%), the dominance of the EU’s leading countries (31%), disparate cultures and values of EU citizens and a deficit of natural resources.
The list of Customs Union advantages included common history and culture and similar mentality of citizens of Customs Union member states (53.4%), natural resources, fuel and energy (47.1%), economic stability (15.4%), cheap labor force and scientific and technological development.
Ukrainians think the Customs Union is suffering from corruption (48%), shadow economy (33.2%), Russian dominance (28.6%), a deficit of democracy and an inadequate level of social protection of citizens.
The Razumkov Center’s sociological service polled 2,010 respondents older than 18 throughout Ukraine on April 20-25, 2013.
