A significant part of the public imagined the European Union as a money pipeline that would substantially ease the path to economic prosperity. Positive expectations were vague, without a deeper understanding of what joining the EU would mean for the country.
In what fields did the citizens of the Czech Republic expect benefits stemming from EU accession? In the 1999–2001 surveys, the most frequently mentioned reasons were greater opportunities to find attractive employment and the possibility for young people to study abroad. Most people also expected improvements in other areas, such as the state of the environment, the consolidation of law and order, the improvement of the civil service performance, as well as greater financial assistance to the country and increased export opportunities. Around half of the people expected an increase in the standard of living after joining the Union. By contrast, most people did not expect any improvement after joining the Union in the social sphere, in the development of culture and interpersonal relations.
However, the views on economic benefits were contradictory. Behind this, we can sense fears of the Czech economy being exploited by other countries, deepening of social inequalities, and weakening of social security. Among the risks associated with EU membership by the public were fears of immigrants from the East, the strengthening of organised crime, the decline of traditional industries, and a crippling of agriculture.
Although the public mood before the EU referendum was complex, it was relatively calm and not characterised by any sudden swings. Studies had shown that the pro-European orientation was stronger and more intense than the anti-European or non-European inclinations. Supporters of the EU were more active and they looked forward to the opportunity to express their opinion in the referendum, while opponents were uncertain, passive, and hesitant about participating in the referendum.
After a successful referendum, there was a sense of complacency, as if the issues surrounding the European Union had been resolved once and for all. Key questions concerning “social Europe” remained unanswered. “Once again, a narrow economic view of the EU as a mere ‘money pipeline’ and a matter for bureaucrats from far-away Brussels prevailed,” Jan Hartl says.
If we wanted to summarise how the Czech public perceived the EU in the first years after accession, we could say that a slightly critical but open attitude towards the EU prevailed. Trust in the EU institutions was around 60 per cent. However, the intensity of emotional attachment to the EU was relatively weak among the population, with a rather rational, pragmatic, passive position prevailing.
The subsequent development of the Czech public’s attitude towards EU membership showed a gradual decline in support. The tide briefly turned during the Czech presidency in 2009. However, the increase in support for the EU during the presidency was followed by a further decline, which, after a short recovery, was followed by the most significant breakthrough so far, related to the migration crisis. In October 2016, only 35% of the population had a positive view of the EU membership. However, this drop was gradually levelled out and the level of support for membership returned to pre-migration-crisis levels (50%) in April 2018. A brief period of fluctuation followed, and from May 2020, the pandemic influenced the views on the EU. The Czech presidency in 2022 did not increase support for EU membership, but it helped maintain the existing level of support during a time when trust in institutions generally declined among the Czech population. In the latest survey from March 2024, we observed an increase in the level of satisfaction with EU membership.
“Overall, are you personally satisfied with our membership of the European Union?”
Source: STEM, Evropská ústava, 2/2005, STEGA, Komunikace o evropských záležitostech, 10/2005–6/2006, STEM, série Trendy (“Trends” regular survey) 2006–2024 (2024/3 for the Representation of the European Commission in Prague)
We can see that in recent years, the Czech public’s view of the European Union has been changing. Until about five years ago, we perceived the EU in a very general way, and a significant part of the public associated it with dealing with trivial issues rather than essential ones. Under the influence of the British referendum, the political debate was often reduced to a remain/leave dilemma. “Today, leaving is not the main talking point, but the Union is gradually becoming a proxy for disputes over the geopolitical heading of the country and how modernising the country should look,” director of STEM Martin Buchtík says. “It is more closely associated with all the issues that stir up society, be it energy, Putin’s war, economic modernisation, climate change, self-sufficiency, freedom, the rule of law, migration or security,” he adds.
The positive attitudes toward the EU are characterised by a clear emphasis on the freedoms to travel, work, and study that EU membership provides. “In a society where two-fifths of people do not travel abroad at all for economic, health or other reasons and only one in four can get by well in English, these are obviously not convincing arguments for a significant number of people,” Martin Buchtík adds. People with a negative view of the EU see it primarily as an overly directive actor that exerts an excessive influence on life in the Czech Republic, depriving the country of its independence and the possibility of free decision-making in various areas of politics and social life.
According to the Czech public, the main challenge that the EU should tackle in the near future is external security, represented primarily by protection against migration and terrorism. They also state it is important to strengthen the EU’s self-sufficiency, especially in the production of strategic components. Green issues are also of high importance, especially environmental protection but also the general development of renewable energy sources.
Security and prosperity are by far the main qualities that the Czech public would like to associate with the Czech Republic both internally and externally in Europe. Moreover, these values represent a societal consensus. There are differences in the population based on socio-demographic and other characteristics, but these affect only the degree of intensity of agreement on respective values; the basic distribution and hierarchy of importance of the individual characteristics remain the same.
For most of the public, the Czech Republic should be mainly secure and safe (58%) and prosperous (48%). The next two characteristics in order, which state that the Czech Republic should be strong (29%) and smart (17%), are seen as connected to the two main characteristics in the senses of “safety through strength” and “prosperity through smartness”.
“Which two qualities would you like the Czech Republic to be most associated with in Europe in the future?”
Source: STEM for the Czech Government Office, 2021/8
