In the event of a referendum on Bosnia’s entry into the European Union, 71.2 percent of respondents would vote in favour of the membership, the Directorate for European Integration said on Wednesday. Joining the EU would receive the support of 83.8 percent of respondents in the Federation of BiH (FBiH), 48.3 percent in Republika Srpska (RS) and 75.1 percent of respondents from Brcko District. T

he percentage of support among respondents from the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska decreased by about two percent compared to last year, and a slight increase in support for joining the EU of 3.6 percent was recorded among respondents from Brcko District of BiH.

Candidate status and the adoption of the EU's decision on the start of accession negotiations with BiH maintained optimism among citizens, thus the largest number of respondents, 39.6 percent of them, believe that BiH will enter the EU in no more than 10 years, while the total percentage of those who believe that BiH will never enter the EU declined to 24.4 percent, the Directorate for European Integrations (DEI) said Wednesday.

DEI recorded a growing trend in the opinion of respondents who believe that Bosnia’s European path has no alternative, adding that 53.9 percent of citizens share this view. The majority of respondents (54.6 percent) expect that, after BiH enters into the EU, the standard of living of citizens will improve significantly. Also, the largest percentage of respondents (45.3 percent) believe that the EU will strengthen internal relations and continue with enlargement.

According to the opinion of most respondents (42.2 percent), young people will benefit the most from BiH's entry into the EU. Politicians are still in second place, followed by entrepreneurs, students and researchers, while according to respondents, farmers will benefit the least.

Most respondents (34.4 percent) believe that the politicization of the process makes Bosnia’s integration in the EU difficult to the greatest extent.

Citizens continue to recognize reforms as necessary for the improvement of everyday life, and according to the opinion of 41.6 precent of respondents, the most necessary reform is the fight against corruption.

The largest number of respondents (59 percent) still recognize the EU as the largest donor of BiH funds.