Estonian Review
Of Estonian citizens, 73% feel like citizens of the European Union, which is a higher ratio than the EU average of 63%, it appears from a Eurobarometer survey done in November.
"One feels more like a citizen of the EU living by the Baltic Sea, less by the Mediterranean. Considering Estonia's recent accession this is a surprising percentage," Hannes Rumm, head of the representation of the European Commission in Estonia, said at the presentation of the survey on Friday.
Of Estonian citizens, 24% expect improvement of the quality of life from the EU. Those expecting equality, justice and peace made up 15% and those expecting improvement in the employment situation 10%. Eleven percent believe they are informed about their rights and obligations very well, and 48% that they are informed more or less. The respective EU average ratios were 9% and 36%.
The ratio of those respondents who wish to get to know more about medical services and working and living in other member states is also higher in Estonia, being 30% in Estonia and 22% in the EU on average.
Of Estonian citizens 45% have been to another EU member state, compared to the EU average of 41%.
Estonia ranks eighth among EU member states by the openness index, scoring 28% compared to the EU average of 13%. The index looks at data for travel, reading of books in another language, communicating with citizens of another country, watching television in another language, and making purchases from another country over the internet. The indicator on watching television in another language had a strong effect on the outcome for Estonia.
Of respondents in Estonia, 1% believe they are very well informed about matters of the EU, compared to 2% in the EU on average. Those believing that they are rather well informed made up 38% in Estonia and 29% in the EU27. Information about the EU is obtained mainly from television and the internet, with the share of respondents naming television declining in comparison with 2011.
Almost 30 000 citizens of Europe were interviewed for the survey in the EU27, of them 1 003 in Estonia.
Three in Four Estonian Citizens Feel Like Citizens of EU
Eestlased Eestis | 08 Mar 2013 | EWR
Eestlased Eestis
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