Belarus and the EU equally upset about inflation

Belarusians and the citizens of the EU countries have common geographical location in the Old World and they also share common problems, in particular, concerning family care and worries about their future. A sociological poll shows that both the EU and Belarus are equally alarmed about the rising prices, however overall, Belarusians have more trust in their government, while the Europeans rely on powerful Brussels.

The Head of the Research Centre MISES ( Belarus), Yaroslav Romanchuk, analyzed the data of the survey of the public opinion conducted by the Eurobarometer in June 2008. The expert concluded that the deterioration of the situation with the European economy directly affected the expectations of the Europeans about their future for the following 12 months: it showed an all-time low level of optimism. Thus, 32% of the EU citizens believe that the situation will improve in the course of the year, 49% think it will remain unchanged, while 16 % think it will become worse (Eurobarometer, June 2008).

The most optimistic views about the economy in general and the financial situation of their families were expressed by Swedes, Danes and Romanians. Rather optimistic were the citizens of Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania. The biggest pessimists live in Portugal and Hungary.

What about our country? 31.4% of Belarusians are expecting the improvement of the socio-economic situation in the country in the coming years, 40% believe that it will not change, and 21.8% talk about the forthcoming deterioration. 62.2% of the residents of our country felt that their personal financial situation has not changed in the course of the past three months (NISEPI, June 2008).

The two of the biggest problems quoted by the residents of the EU countries are inflation and unemployment, said Mr. Romanchuk. Compared with the autumn 2006, the issue of the rising prices became the leading issue and the number of concerned by it increased by 21 %. Inhabitants of the 14 EU Member States consider it to be the most significant issue.

Unemployment is the largest point of concern for the residents of Portugal (49%), Hungary (41%), Greece (40%) and among the residents of the countries applied for the EU membership, Turkey (55%) and Macedonia (61%). Irish, Poles, Czechs, Danes, Swedes and Finns put healthcare issues on the top of the list. Brits are mostly concerned about the crime situation (38%). A similar situation is with Cypriots (35%) and Dutchmen (30%). At a significantly higher level than the EU average (5%), is the issue of the environmental protection, worrying Swedes, Danes and residents of Malta (20%).

Concerning Belaruisians, they regard inflation, the low standard of living and the lack of housing as the most painful issues. In general, however, said Romanchuk, both Belarusians and the residents of the EU countries complain and voice their concern about the price increases and about the state of the economy.

It is an interesting fact, that 44.4% of Belarusians look forward for the President to solve all economic problems, 37.4% are linking their hopes with attracting foreign investment, 20.4% rely on the government and 22% on Belarusian businessmen. In addition to that the majority of Belarusians (59%) believe that hard work leads to wealth and 47.1% believe that is luck (NISEPI, March 2008).

How do Europeans evaluate the efforts of the EU as a whole and its individual Member States regarding overcoming all kinds of existing problems? According to the data of the Eurobarometer, the EU citizens have a rather harsh attitude regarding the direction of the development chosen by their national governments. Thus, 45% of Europeans said that their countries have chosen the wrong path. This figure is a lot higher than the one in 2007 however it is lower than the maximum negative attitude in the autumn of 2006, said Mr. Romanchuk. The Belarusian economist explains such views via their expectation of a rapid worsening of the economic situation.

However, the efforts of Brussels to build a better future for the citizens of 27 EU countries were appreciated by 42% of respondents and only 25% responded negatively.

In Belarus the situation is the following: 48.3% of citizens are sure that Belarus is moving in the right direction, 37.5% believe that the direction is wrong. Also, 53.8% of Belarusians say that it is important for them to change the current situation, 37.4% are in favour of maintaining the status quo (NISEPI, June 2008). Mr. Romanchuk confirmed that Belarussians have more trust in their government than residents of the EU countries. In his opinion it is due not because of the dramatic differences in values however due to the monopoly of the Belarusian authorities on the media and the lack of political competition.

In the meantime certain decisions of the Belarusian government are unpopular. For isntance, 75.9% of the respondents in Belarus did not approve the decision to abolish benefits for most categories of the population.

Overall, 43.1% of Belarusians confirm that their lives changed for the better after Belarus became an independent country. 25.8% disagreed with that (NISEPI, in March 2008).

While replying to a question regarding the hypothetical vote at a referendum concerning membership of Belarus in the European Union, opinions of our fellow citizens literally divided evenly: 35.4% said "yes" and 35.4% "no" (NISEPI, March 2008).

It is noteworthy that the attitude of the EU population towards further expansion is ambiguous and far from unanimous. For instance, 43% agree that the EU should expand and welcome new countries, while 35% do not support the enlargement process. Supporters of the expansion live mostly in the countries with relatively low levels of economic development, while the number of supporters in the EU leading countries, Britain, Germany and France, is slightly higher than one third.

Belarusians assess life in the European Union as high: 52% believe that the EU people live better than us. The opposite views hold 20.8% and 15.7% of respondents, believing that life in the European Union is no different from Belarus. Belarusians also assess as quite high the changes in the neighbouring Latvia, Lithuania and Poland after their entry into the EU in 2004. Thus 38.3% of the respondents are sure that the lives of Latvians, Lithuanians and Poles changed for the better, 26% think it changed nothing. (NISEPI, March 2008).

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