Graffiti with the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the inscription «Brother» on the wall of a house in Belgrade. File photoBELGRADE, Apr 21About 44% of Serbian citizens in a referendum would vote against joining the EU for the first time, 34% would support it, the reason for Euroscepticism is the crisis around Ukraine, according to the results of a poll by the authoritative agency Ipsos. It is noteworthy that the publication appeared on Thursday in the mass publication Blic, related to the media holding Axel Sprienger, known for his critical stance towards the Russian Federation. «For the first time since trends in connection with European integration have been monitored, it has been recorded that more Serbian citizens would not vote for joining the EU in the event of a referendum than those who In March, we had a sharp increase in the number of people who oppose European integration, accompanied by a decline in the number of those who support it,» Marko Ulyarevich, head of the agency, told Blic. in the EU, with an even sharper drop in the number of supporters of integration.Now 34.9% of citizens on referendum would support Serbia's accession to the EU, while 43.8% would vote against», — said the director of Ipsos and clarified that the rest have not yet formed an opinion on this issue.
The media reported on Vučić's desire to sign a new gas treaty with Russia, according to him, despite the successful balancing of Serbian authorities in foreign policy, it is the current situation around Ukraine that has influenced public opinion. «The daily pressure for Serbia to decide and join the sanctions against Russia is pushing citizens to have a different attitude towards the EU Of course, Russia does not sit idly by and uses its «soft power», which comes primarily from Serbia's energy dependence, as well as international support in international organizations in connection with the status of Kosovo , which is not very noticeable from the outside,» the poll organizer emphasized. In an address to fellow citizens on March 2, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the Serbian authorities supported 4 of the 13 points of the UN resolution condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine — those that do not imply sanctions and alienation property of Russian companies in the country. According to him, the crisis due to hostilities in Ukraine is having a dramatic impact on Serbia, which has found itself under enormous foreign policy pressure. review plans for integration into the European Union
