site.btaEurobarometer Survey: In EU, Bulgarians Feel Least Sympathy towards Ukrainians

EU-wide, Bulgarians appear to feel the least sympathy towards Ukrainians, and only Cyprus has a larger proportion of people disagreeing that Russia is to blame for the war in Ukraine, according to a Flash Eurobarometer survey conducted between April 13 and 20, 2022. The results of the poll were published on Thursday.

Asked whether they feel sympathy towards Ukrainians, 39% of Bulgarians said they totally agreed, 34% that they tended to agree, 15% tended to disagree, 10% totally disagreed and 3% didn't know. The EU average answers to this question were 54%, 35%, 6%, 3% and 2%, respectively.

The proportion agreeing they feel sympathy towards Ukrainians was the lowest in Bulgaria (72%) and the highest in Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal and Sweden (94%) and in Malta (96%).

As many as 46% of Bulgarians disagreed that Russian authorities are responsible for the war: 27% totally agreed, 19% tended to agree, 21% tended to disagree, 25% totally disagreed, and 8% didn't know. The respective EU averages here were 52%, 26%, 10%, 7% and 5%. Only Cyprus has a higher percentage of sceptics about Russia's responsibility  for the war in Ukraine (52%). Bulgaria and Cyprus are the only two countries where less than half agreed. 

Asked whether Ukraine should join the EU when it is ready, 23% of Bulgarians totally agreed, 28% tended to agree, 14% tended to disagree, 21% totally disagreed, and 14% didn't know. EU-wide, these percentages averaged 30%, 36%, 12%, 10% and 12%. 

The largest proportions disagreeing that Ukraine should join the EU when it is ready are found in Luxembourg (38%), Greece (37%), Hungary (36%), Austria and Bulgaria (both 35%), and Cyprus and Slovakia (both 34%).

Satisfaction with the EU's response following the war broke out ranges from 29% in Greece, 32% in Bulgaria and 33% in Cyprus, to 63% in Romania, 65% in Finland and 67% in Denmark.

EU-wide, Bulgarians are least satisfied with how their national authorities have reacted to the war in Ukraine, with just 28% satisfied, compared to 75% in Denmark, 76% in Estonia and 80% in Finland.

With regard to NATO's response, respondents in Cyprus (18%), Greece (24%) and Bulgaria (30%) are again the least satisfied while those in Denmark (69%) are the most satisfied.

Concerning the response of the US, respondents in Cyprus (19%), Greece (23%) and Bulgaria (25%) are again the least satisfied, while those in Poland (73%) and Denmark (65%) are the most satisfied.

Respondents in Bulgaria (49%), Greece (52%) and Cyprus (54%) are least satisfied with how citizens in their country reacted to the war in Ukraine, and respondents in Poland (88%), Estonia (85%) and Finland (83%) are most satisfied in this respect.

Bulgaria (44%) and Cyprus (48%) are the only two EU countries where fewer than half of respondents approve economic sanctions against Russia. At the other end of the scale, 91-93% approve of economic sanctions targeting Russia in Finland, Poland and Portugal. Support for sanctions against wealthy Russians (oligarchs) shows a comparable pattern: the share approving such sanctions ranges from 46% in Cyprus, 53% in Greece and 58% in Bulgaria, to 90% in both Finland and Portugal and 91% in Poland.

Approval of welcoming in the EU people fleeing the war ranges from 75% in Bulgaria and 77% in both Czechia and Slovakia, to 95% in Croatia, Finland, and Malta, and 96% in Portugal.

Again, respondents in Bulgaria and Cyprus (30-31%) show the lowest approval of financing the purchase and supply of military equipment to Ukraine. In comparison, more than eight in ten approve of this measure in Finland (90%), Estonia (87%), Poland (86%), Lithuania (84%) and Portugal (83%).

Apart from in Slovakia, relatively few respondents support measures to reduce the EU's dependency on Russian gas and oil as soon as possible in Bulgaria (63%), Hungary (67%) and Cyprus (69%).

Respondents in Bulgaria (39%), Cyprus (42%) and Greece (39%) are the least likely to trust the various information sources regarding the war in Ukraine, and those most like to do so are in Finland and Portugal (85% both).