03 SEP 2010

By Augustin Palokaj | WAZ EUobserver

Croatia is doing its best to meet the last outstanding criteria in order to conclude the marathon accession talks for membership in the European Union. Yet, the question is still in the air whether its own citizens really want to join that club.

According to the results of a survey by Eurobarometer, published last week, only 26 percent of Croatian citizens are of the opinion that their country's membership in the EU would be "a good thing." Croatian scepticism is second only to Iceland, the latest candidate country that started accession talks recently. In Iceland, a paltry 19 percent of citizens consider EU membership a good thing. The EU average stands at 49 percent - also down by a few percentage points from last year's figure, but still higher than the number of citizens who take a negative view of membership.

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