Positive perception of the EU in Slovakia

Slovaks are glad that Slovakia is a member of the European Union and five years after joining the EU most Slovaks trust its institutions, but do not want to engage in its activities or express their opinion on EU issues, according to a survey by the Focus agency, the main reason seems that most slovaks want more information and they don't feel knowledgeable enough.

Almost 80 percent of Slovaks think that we are profiting from being in the EU. They are interested in how much they get from EU funds, but also issues like social problems, health legislation and pension legislation of the EU states. Andrea Elschekova-Matisova, head of the Slovak representation of the European Commission to Slovakia, said that the survey shows that Slovaks feel like euro citizens and they would appreciate more information.

Eight out of ten respondents suggested information about the EU to be a part of teaching curriculum at high schools, while seven out of ten respondents were convinced that public media, mainly Slovak television, should report more on the situation in other EU states. Only 14 percent of respondents claimed that the situation in the EU does not interest them, while 61 percent of respondents could