80 percent of citizens support Montenegro’s EU Membership

The support of Montenegrin citizens for the country's accession to the European Union is constant and high, according to the research conducted for the Delegation of the European Union by the De Facto agency in November 2023.

Nearly four-fifths of Montenegrin citizens, more specifically 78.5% of them, support Montenegro's European Union membership. Regardless of whether they personally support the membership or not, 76 %of them are convinced that Montenegro will become a member of the European Union.

"The consistently high support by Montenegrin citizens for their country's membership in the European Union is encouraging for us, and I believe for the Montenegrin authorities as well. Such strong and stable support for the membership, close to 80%, should be a driving force for all political actors to expedite reforms on the path towards the EU accession. Our common goal should not only be the membership but also the improvement of living conditions for citizens on that journey and the promotion of EU values as the foundation of a prosperous democratic society," said the Ambassador of the European Union to Montenegro, Oana Cristina Popa.

The research shows that the citizens see the European Union as the most important political, economic, and trade partner in the future, with 50% of them viewing the EU as Montenegro’s largest financial donor.

If a referendum on Montenegro's EU membership was held now, 86.8% of citizens would vote, and of those who voted, almost 90% would respond affirmatively to the referendum question.

A positive attitude towards the EU and high support for the membership impose additional obligations but also provide a strong incentive both for the Ministry of European Affairs and the government as a whole, said the Minister of European Affairs Maida Gorčević.

"I’s an incentive to work even more dedicatedly, efficiently, and better to fulfil all the conditions of the accession process and ensure that Montenegro becomes the next EU member. In this direction, we will continue to work towards achieving European standards and improving the quality of life for our citizens, which is the most important goal of this European government," said Minister Gorčević.

Asked to assess the speed at which Montenegro is moving towards the EU membership, 19% of citizens believe that the process is moving very quickly, while 35.8% responded as fast as circumstances allow. Aruond 40.8% think it is not moving fast enough or is moving very slowly.

"Although support for the EU accession remains strong in Montenegro, we can observe certain movements from the so-called firm towards the soft category of supporters. The observed trend emphasises the importance of preserving one of the few, if not the only, aspect around which there is a consensus in Montenegro," said Olivera Komar from the De Facto agency.

The majority of citizens, namely 65.5% of them, believe that things in Montenegro are moving in the right direction, but only 11% are fully convinced of this.

According to the research results, the biggest problem in the Montenegrin society is the economic situation, followed by unemployment and corruption. There is also a growing concern among citizens about the state of healthcare and the environment.