Over 70% of Georgian citizens back govt course towards entry into EU - poll
TBILISI. Jan 16 (Interfax) - The goal of entry into the European Union, which has been declared by the Georgian government, looks acceptable to 72% of Georgian respondents, the U.S. National Democratic Institute said in a survey report on Monday.
According to the survey, 18% of respondents reject the course.
The number of Georgians supporting the entry into NATO has reduced over recent years, but is still the aspiration of a majority, the Georgian media said.
A total of 61% of modern respondents support accession to NATO, while 25% object to membership in the North Atlantic alliance, the NDI said.
The number of European integration advocates is comparatively larger amongst followers of the opposition United National Movement than amongst supporters of the ruling party Georgian Dream, the media said with reference to the survey.
In the opinion of 53% of respondents, Georgia's entry into the EU and NATO would be more advantageous for Georgia, while 31% think that Georgia will gain greater advantages from improving relations with Russia and abandoning European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Seven percent disagreed, and 9% were undecided.
As many as 54% of respondents said that Georgian foreign policy should be pro-Western while good relations with Russia should be preserved.
Eighteen percent of respondents said they favored a pro-Russian course amid good relations with NATO and the European Union.
Twelve percent of respondents insist that Georgia's foreign policy should be exclusively pro-Western and 9% want the policy to be pro-Russian only, the NDI said, adding that the rest were unable to answer the question.
The NDI survey was held across Georgia in the period from November 4 till December 4, 2016. In all, 3,141 people were polled. NDI studies are financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and polls are conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC).