Bulgarians are moderately optimistic about the EU, Eurobarometer survey shows

57% of Bulgarians see a benefit from their country's membership in the EU, according to a Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament. In other EU countries, 74% of those surveyed expressed a similar opinion. Bulgarians identify access to the European labour market as the greatest benefit - 49%, while for the rest of the respondents in the community, 40% put the EU's contribution to protecting peace and security in first place. In Bulgaria, this argument is supported by 29% of those surveyed, BNR correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova reports.

44% of Bulgarian participants and 58% of the rest express pessimism about the future of the world, but 56% in this country and 59% of the rest are optimistic about the EU. Asked what feeling describes their emotional state, half of Bulgarians indicate "hope", while 36 percent of Bulgarians and 44 percent of Europeans say "uncertainty."

Editor: Ivo Ivanov