Liter, a public and political newspaper (liter.kz) (Almaty) Eighty percent of Kazakhstan's population support its membership of the EEU

KazTAG reports, with a reference to the media service of Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), that 80% of Kazakhstan's citizens support their country's membership of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

"The poll showed that most people in the EEU member countries feel positive about Eurasian economic integration. The level of support for the countries' participation in the EEU in Russia and Kazakhstan is 78% and 80%, respectively," reads the Friday statement. These data are the result of the fourth wave of research into integration preferences in the CIS countries (Integration Barometer) undertaken by the EDB Centre for Integration Studies. At the same time, the citizens of Armenia and Belarus demonstrated a lower level of support for their countries' participation in the union (56% and 60% respectively, or 8 percentage points (p.p.) down on 2014). In Armenia, the number of those who feel indifferent or negative about the country's participation in the EEU is also growing. The Kyrgyz Republic records the highest level of the public's support for Eurasian integration among the EEU countries (86%). 

"Among the non-EEU countries, the highest support for joining the union is recorded in Tajikistan (72%). This suggests that the further expansion of integration between the EEU and Tajikistan is desirable and expedient, as well as with Uzbekistan where 68% of the population wanted to see their country in the Customs Union in 2014," the publication states. In Moldova, the percentage of people who want their country to join the EEU grew to 53% in 2015 (compared to 49% in 2014) and the number of those who do not deem these developments as useful for the country or who are indifferent reduced to some extent. "In Ukraine, the percentage of those who support the country's possible joining the EEU went down to 19% (31% in 2014) and 60% of the population are against this possibility. In Georgia, the number of citizens who support its possible accession to the EEU reduced to 41% (52% in 2014)," the publication emphasises. The poll has also showed that 55% of Armenian citizens are for a single currency, while 57% and 53% of the Belarusian and Russian population respectively are against a common army. In 2015, over 11,000 people from nine CIS countries - Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine - took part in the poll.