Ukrainians prefer the pro-European vector of their country's foreign policy (accession to the European Union) rather than the course towards accession to the Customs Union (CU), according to the findings of a September poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KMIS).
According to the survey findings published on Wednesday, had a referendum on Ukraine’s accession to a particular geopolitical organization been held in September 2015, 46 percent Ukrainian adults would have voted for EU accession and 18 percent for the CU.
Without the undecided, who normally choose not to go to the polls, the turnout at an EU accession referendum would be around 76 percent, with the votes distributed as follows: 61 percent saying “yes” to the EU accession, 39 percent saying “no.” At a CU accession referendum, 24 percent would say “yes” and 76 percent would say “no.”
Apart from the questions about hypothetical referenda on EU and CU accession, the respondents were asked which integration they considered more preferable for Ukraine. Forty-four per cent favor the accession to the EU, while 17 percent think Ukraine must go down the path of joining the CU.
At the same time, a significant proportion of (27 percent) are opposed both to the EU and the CU, thinking that Ukraine should develop independently, without joining any of these organizations.
The poll was conducted by KMIS on Sept. 9-24 by interviewing 2,041 respondents aged above 18 in 110 towns in all Ukrainian regions. In Luhansk Region, the poll was only conducted in the Ukraine-controlled areas; in Donetsk Region, it was held both in the Ukraine-controlled and breakaway areas.
