Voters in the Republic of Ireland are less supportive of closer European political and military integration than their counterparts in other European Union member-states, according to a private European barometer survey.
Just 27 per cent of voters surveyed in the Republic supported the creation of a common European army, compared to an average support level of 52 per cent in the 12 EU countries surveyed.
In all, 57 per cent of Irish respondents were opposed to the creation of such an army, compared to an average opposition figure of 37 per cent in the 12 countries.
The survey was conducted in Ireland exclusively for The Irish Times by MRBI on May 10th. It forms part of a European barometer survey co-ordinated by Louis Harris in France which was carried out in 12 countries of the European Union.
Irish people were only marginally less supportive of NATO's military actions in Serbia than the other European countries surveyed. In all, 46 per cent of Irish respondents support the actions, with 42 per cent opposed and 12 per cent undecided. On average in the 12 European countries, 49 per cent of voters favoured NATO's actions, 40 per cent opposed them and 11 per cent were undecided.
Irish people were nonetheless more supportive of the use of ground forces in Kosovo than people in the other participating countries.
The use of ground forces was supported by 45 per cent of Irish respondents, compared to an average of 34 per cent of respondents across the EU. The proportion of people in the Republic who said their vote in the European elections would be influenced by NATO's military actions was also higher than the European average. Almost half of Irish respondents (47 per cent) said their vote would be influenced by that consideration, compared to 40 per cent of respondents overall.
Irish support for the creation of a common European government is significantly less than the European average, with 29 per cent of Irish citizens in favour, compared to an average support of 46 per cent. The Irish are also less supportive of European enlargement and the direct election of a European president. Just two out of five voters surveyed in the Republic said they supported the enlargement of the EU to include East European countries, while 38 per cent were opposed. The average support for enlargement across the 12 countries was significantly higher at 54 per cent.
Half of respondents in the 12 countries surveyed supported direct election throughout Europe of a European president, but just two-fifths of Irish people favoured such a move.
Recognition of incoming EU Commission President Mr Romano Prodi was very low in Ireland. In response to the question "Are you aware of Romano Prodi, even if only by name?", just one in four of Irish people replied "Yes", compared to half of respondents across Europe. The only country where awareness was lower was the UK, where only 23 per cent of respondents knew of Mr Prodi.
Irish voters were also marginally less happy than others with the introduction of the euro. In all, 51 per cent of Irish respondents were satisfied with the replacement of the national currency with the euro, compared to 53 per cent satisfaction in the euro zone overall.
Dissatisfaction with the euro in Ireland has grown from 28 per cent to 38 per cent since the last such survey in October.
However, citizens of the Republic were much happier than their counterparts in the rest of the EU with the way in which the union is evolving. Almost 60 per cent of Irish respondents were happy, compared to an average of just 43 per cent of voters in the 12 countries surveyed.
Irish people were significantly more confident than their European neighbours in the ability of their national government and the European Commission and Parliament to "improve the economic and social situation". They were also more confident about their future "personal and professional situation" than most of their European neighbours.
This survey in the Republic of Ireland was conducted exclusively on behalf of The Irish Times by MRBI Ltd, among a national quota sample of 1,000 representative of the 2.5 million electors aged 18 upwards, covering 100 sampling points throughout all constituencies in the Republic of Ireland. Personal in-home accuracy level is estimated to be approximately plus or minus 3 percent. In all respects, the survey was conducted within the guideline laid down by the marketing Society of Ireland, and by ESOMAR (European Society).
Extracts from the report may be quoted or published in condition that due acknowledgements is given to The Irish Times and MRBI Ltd.
