Bulgarians 'Most Detached from EU' - Eurobarometer

Bulgaria is one of just three EU member states where over 50 percent of people do not feel like European citizens, a Eurobarometer survey has shown.

About 53% of Bulgarians, 50% of Italians and 51% of Greeks do not regard themselves as having an EU identity, according to a message on the European Commission's website.

The figures come against the backdrop of an average 65% of Europeans who feel like an EU citizen, the poll also reveals.

Bulgarians convinced their voice counts in Europe number 42 percent, just a notch above those who argued it does not make a difference.

However, the results exactly match the EU average.

Sixty-two percent of Bulgarians are optimistic about the EU, which is also above the average 56%.

Levels of support for the single EU currency, the euro, were at 55% across the bloc, but respondents in Bulgaria, which is not a Eurozone member, were utterly divided over whether the EUR should be adopted, with 41 in favor and 42 against.

Figures suggest the gap between the numbers of Bulgarians backing the Euro and those rejecting it is narrow compared to other non-euro area members such as Sweden (77% "strongly against"), the UK and the Czech Republic (73% strongly against in each country), Denmark (66% against), Poland (37% pro, 47% contra).

It was Bulgaria, on the other hand, where resistance against the euro grew the most (by 6%) since the autumn of 2013.

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