Poll: Romanians see benefits of EU membership but believe they are still discriminated

The balance of positive views on European Union membership in Romania increased from 15.3% in 2014 to 19.9% in 2024, according to a poll carried out by INSCOP for News.ro. Still, many see themselves as not having the same rights as other Europeans.

Thus, the number of those considering that the EU membership brought more benefits to Romania increased from 35.2% to 47.6%, while those with the opposite sentiment also increased from 19.9% to 27.7%. Notably, the share of those with a neutral sentiment halved from 41.5% to 21.9%.

However, nearly three-quarters of Romanians consider themselves rather not informed about the activity of the European institutions.

More than 40% of Romanians believe that the priority of future Romanian MEPs should be the fight for Romanians to have the same rights as the rest of European citizens, commented Remus Ştefureac, director of INSCOP Research. The full Schengen membership is the next major priority.

Some 60% of Romanians focus on topics seen as sources of injustice – the blocking of full Schengen membership and the feeling that Romanians do not have the same rights as the rest of the EU citizens, Ştefureac said.

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