Bulgaria to hold referendum on EU membership?

Public support for Bulgaria’s EU accession is measured at 71% as
the country’s European affairs minister proposes putting the issue
to a popular vote.

EU candidate Bulgaria ought to hold a referendum on the
country’s membership even if the national laws do not require
putting the issue to a popular vote, said the country’s European
Affairs Minister Meglena Kuneva on 6 January. She suggested that
the proposed referendum be held simultaneously with the scheduled
parliamentary elections in June 2005. Kuneva’s proposal ties in
with the view of President Georgi Parvanov, who supports the idea
of a referendum but would prefer to hold it separately from any
elections.

Meanwhile, a recent public opinion poll on Bulgaria’s EU
integration has revealed that popular support for EU membership
stands at 71%, with only 15% opposed. Some 63% of the respondents
approved the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria, and 51%
said that the EU member states should have a common defence
policy. At the same time, 46% said that Bulgaria will not be
ready for accession by the scheduled date of January 2007, with 9%
believing that the country will never be ready. 

Only 7% of the respondents held the view that EU membership will
be beneficial to everybody, and only 17% were aware that accession
negotiations between Bulgaria and the EU had already been
completed. The overall proportion of eurosceptics increased
from 24% in 2003 to 31% in November 2004.

The poll was conducted in November 2004 by Bulgaria’s
Institute for Marketing and Social Surveys (MBMD).

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