(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Many people in Ukraine would support a motion to join the European Union (EU), according to a poll by the Kyiv International Sociology Institute for IFES. 41 per cent of respondents would vote to join the continental group, while 28 per cent would vote against it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Many people in Ukraine would support a motion to join the European Union (EU), according to a poll by the Kyiv International Sociology Institute for IFES. 41 per cent of respondents would vote to join the continental group, while 28 per cent would vote against it.
Conversely, 58 per cent of respondents in the country would reject accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in a referendum.
Ukraine is not an official candidate for EU membership. Since 2005, the Ukrainian government has taken steps to build closer ties with the EU, and signed a joint EU-Ukraine Action Plan in order to accomplish that.
NATO was originally formed in 1949 as an agreement of collaboration designed to prevent a possible attack from the Soviet Union on North America or Western Europe during the Cold War. In March 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia officially joined NATO.
Last month, Ukraine’s governing coalition split in great part due to disagreements over a conflict between Georgia and Russia triggered by Georgian armed forces in the breakaway province of South Ossetia. In the days following the incursion, Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko of the People’s Union-Our Ukraine (NS-NU) asked the government to fiercely condemn Russia’s actions in Georgia. Prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko refused to take a strong stance against Russia. Yushchenko—who won the 2004 presidential election after joining forces with Tymoshenko during the "Orange Revolution"—left the coalition as a result.
In April, U.S. president George W. Bush endorsed Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
The Ukrainian government is seeking to increase support for NATO accession through a major publicity effort. On Nov. 24, Foreign Ministry spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych unveiled an awareness campaign which entails sending out a quiz about NATO’s history and current mandates by text-message. The government has offered the winners of this nationwide contest a trip to NATO headquarters in Brussels. The quiz includes questions such as "How many countries were created when the Soviet Union dissolved, and how many of them are NATO members?", and "What percentage of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is produced by the United States and China?"
Polling Data
How would you vote in a referendum on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union (EU)?
|
In favour |
41% |
|
Against |
28% |
|
Not sure |
30% |
How would you vote in a referendum on Ukraine’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)?
|
In favour |
23% |
|
Against |
58% |
|
Not sure |
19% |
Source: Kyiv International Sociology Institute / IFES
Methodology: Interviews with 1,218 Ukrainian adults, conducted from Oct. 17 to Oct. 28, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
