Only half of Cypriots agree with EU sanctions against Russia

Only 54% of respondents in Cyprus, compared to an average of 80% in the European Union, agree with EU financial sanctions against Russia, according to the European Parliament's spring Eurobarometer findings.

Cyprus is also one of the countries where citizens believe that their daily lives will be affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at a rate of 80% compared to an average of 61% in the EU. The rate in Cyprus is the second-highest after Greece (86%).

Cyprus is also an exception in terms of the percentage of respondents who have a positive view of Russia, as 36% said they have a positive view, compared to 10% in the EU average (where it fell from 30% compared to 2018 ).

The second-lowest position in terms of the positive image at the EU level is China (22%, down 14 points compared to 2018).

Respondents at the EU level have a more positive picture for the United Kingdom (65%, 1 point increase), followed by the US with 58% (13 points increase). As for Turkey, only 28% of EU citizens have a positive view, with the corresponding figure in Cyprus at only 9%.

At the same time, 65% of Europeans consider their country's EU membership to be a good thing, recording the highest rate since 2007 when it was 58%. In Cyprus, 53% feel that the country's membership in the EU is good and is generally positive.

The results have increased compared to the latest survey conducted at the end of 2021 in most countries, especially in Lithuania (an increase of 20 percentage points), Malta (an increase of 12 percentage points) and Estonia (an increase of 9 percentage points).

Also, 42% of Cypriots (and 52% in the EU) have a positive image of the European Union. The result at the EU level is the highest rate recorded since 2007. At the Member State level, the highest percentage of positive EU image was recorded in Ireland (76%) and the lowest in Greece (42%).

Although four out of ten in the EU say they experience an impact on their standard of living due to inflation and the cost of living, 59% say defending freedom and democracy should be a priority, even if it would affect prices and cost of living.

In Cyprus, 48% of respondents believe that defending these values ​​should be a priority.

In response to the same question, Cypriots ranked the restraint of prices and the cost of living somewhat higher in their priorities even if this affected the defense of common European values ​​(51%) compared to the European average (39%).

Regarding the challenges that they believe should be given priority by the European Parliament, public health comes first for Cypriots (58%), followed by the fight against poverty and social exclusion (45%) and support for the economy and job creation (42%).

In the EU average, the fight against poverty and social exclusion ranked first at 38%, followed by public health (35%), down 7 points in the last six months. The third priority is democracy and the rule of law (32%), a category that increased by 7 points.

Asked what core values ​​the European Parliament should advocate, EU citizens responded by ranking democracy first and foremost at 38% (up by six points since the fall of 2021), followed by the protection of human rights in the EU and worldwide, as well as freedom of speech and thought (27% for both).

In Cyprus, the percentages are slightly different from the average, as 37% of respondents ranked the protection of human rights in the EU and worldwide as most important, freedom of speech and thought was second at 31% and democracy at 30%.

The survey was conducted between 19 April and 16 May with the participation of 26,580 citizens across the EU, and 503 citizens in Cyprus through private interviews.