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The support of Lithuanian citizens for the country’s membership in the European Union remains steadfast and high, the opinion poll results show. On 3-12 December, this public opinion survey was carried out at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.70 per cent of the respondents support Lithuania’s EU membership. The results of the opinion survey that was carried out in July 2010 showed that 71 per cent of Lithuanians supported the EU. The average of 70 per cent of respondents has stably supported the country’s EU membership since 2004.

The survey showed that more than 6 out of 10 Lithuanians took interest in the EU and in Lithuania’s EU membership. The percentage did not change significantly during the half-year.

When commenting on the results of the public opinion poll, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis expressed his belief that Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013 would not only have a unique opportunity to emphasize the interests of Lithuania, but would also help people to learn more about the EU’s activity and to better understand its value.

During the latter half-year, public awareness of Lithuania’s membership in the EU increased. The majority of the respondents are satisfied or quite satisfied with the available information on the country’s EU membership and, compared with the results of the July opinion poll, the percentage of those satisfied increased by nearly one third, as it grew from 43 to 61 per cent.

27 per cent of the respondents said that the information was entirely sufficient and 34 per cent said that it was satisfactory. The results of the July opinion poll were 16 and 26 per cent respectively.

The percentage of the respondents, who lacked information on the EU membership, also decreased from 40 per cent in July to 24 per cent in December.

The public opinion poll about the information on Lithuania’s EU membership showed that the majority of the respondents would like to find the information on TV (88 per cent), in the press (52 per cent), on the radio (48 per cent), and on the Internet (37 per cent).

Media activities highlighting the EU topicality was estimated on the average: 9 per cent of the respondents indicated that the level of provision of the information about the EU in the media was high, 56 per cent said that the level of provision of the information was moderate, and 17 per cent considered that the level was low.

The majority of Lithuanian citizens (77 per cent) would like to learn about the use of the EU support for Lithuania, the representation of Lithuania’s positions in the EU (69 per cent), the activities of Lithuania’s elected MEPs (68 per cent), and about the euro (68 per cent).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides information about Lithuania’s membership in the EU on the website: http://www.euro.lt/. Lithuanian citizens can also find free and comprehensive information on this topic in regional Europe Direct information centers (http://www.europedirect.lt/).

The public opinion poll was carried out at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Market and Opinion Research Centre “Vilmorus Ltd.” On 3-12 December, the center interviewed 1003 adult Lithuanian citizens in 17 cities and 51 villages. The poll was carried out as part of the project “The Increase in the Efficiency of Lithuania’s EU Affairs System”, funded by the European Social Fund.