Publication

The opinion poll was commissioned by the IWP and conducted by GfK Ukraine.

To download the publication click here.

The main findings of the poll:

Almost half of Ukrainians need more information on the status of implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU.

Almost 40% are convinced that European integration of Ukraine is an irreversible process.

The majority of Ukrainians don’t believe that the adoption of neutral status can defend Ukraine from Russian aggression.

1. How did your attitude toward the European Union change after the Revolution of Dignity of 2014?

When answering this question, the absolute majority of Ukrainians chose the option “didn’t change” (58%), 14% of respondents stated that their attitudes toward the EU improved, and another 24% said that it deteriorated.

Gender and education influenced the deterioration or improvement of the attitudes towards the EU significantly. Women turned out to be more euro-sceptical with only 10% of respondents saying their attitudes toward the EU improved (compared with 18% of male respondents), while the deterioration 28% of female respondents said their attitudes deteriorated (only 20% among men).

The level of euro-scepticism is almost twice as high among the respondents with a secondary and incomplete higher education (31% and 28% respectively) compared to more educated respondents (16%).

The visa-free regime was the key reason for the improvement of respondent’s attitudes (25%). The second top argument are hopes for the future positive changes that would lead to Ukraine’s partnership with the European Union (every fifth of those who stated improvement of their attitudes toward the EU). This option is especially popular among young respondents.

The majority of those whose attitude towards the EU has worsened explained their answer with the deterioration of the quality of life and economic situation in Ukraine (63%). The next most popular argument is that Ukraine lost territories and is at war because of the European integration aspirations (7%); this option was mostly chosen by residents of the eastern region, and least frequently in the west. Also, Ukrainians don’t blame the EU for not supporting Ukraine enough in the conflict with Russia: less than 1% of those respondents who said their attitudes towards the EU deteriorated named this reason.

This research was conducted by the Institute of World Policy as part of its project, implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and

implemented by Pact. The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of Pact and its implementing partners and do not necessary reflect the views of USAID and the United States Government.