Ansamed

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, AUGUST 26 - Despite measures adopted by the EU for the financial bail-out of the Athens government, Greek citizens account for the highest decline of all member state citizens in support for EU membership compared to the figures of 2009 (-17%). Greece is followed by Cyprus (-13%) and Slovenia (-11%). This is one of the figures that emerges from the six-monthly study published today by Eurobarometer, which shows a decline in the number of those interviewed in Greece who believed that the country had benefited from EU membership (-10%), on the same level as Portugal. The Greeks are among the most mistrustful of European institutions of the citizens of the 27 member states: indeed 56% of those asked tend not to have faith, a figure surpassed only by the Brits, with 68%. 33%, however, believe in the EU as the institution most able to tackle the crisis (compared to the government, G20, IMF, U.S or others), level with the Italians, Spanish and Maltese and followed by 32% of Slovenians, 28% of Portuguese and 22% of French.

In general, 75% of European citizens believe that greater coordination of economic and financial policies between EU member states would be useful in tackling the economic crisis. In particular, measures aimed at reducing national public deficits and debt cannot wait, according to 82% of those interviewed in Cyprus, and 80% in Greece and Slovenia, 79% in Malta, 76% in Italy, 69% in Spain, 65% in France and 59% in Portugal. (ANSAmed).