Most of the respondents to a poll organized by the Institute of Public Policies (IPP) in May 2014 think that the levels of poverty and corruption are lower in the EU than in the Customs Union. However, although most Moldovans appreciate living standards in the EU, they would vote for joining the Customs Union, IPN reports..

Presenting the results, Oazu Nantoi, program director at IPP, said that support for European integration peaked in 2008, after which it decreased with the emergence of an alternative in the form of the Customs Union.

Considering that EU investments per capita are the highest in Moldova than anywhere in the Eastern Partnership, it is paradoxical that the opinion dynamics are negative, according to Nantoi. The latest poll from May shows that those who would vote for joining the Customs Union in a referendum significantly outnumber those in favor of joining the EU.

The IPP expert notes that the probability of a war starting in the EU is virtually nil, but the answers to this question prove that Moldovans don't know basic things about the EU. “I think if 31% answer that the probability of a war is lower in the Customs Union, it proves we overestimate ourselves when asked whether we know what the EU is. We say we are well-informed, but forget fundamental things, that the EU was created precisely to end wars on the European continent”, added Oazu Nantoi.

In response to the question “Where can the Moldovans' problems be solved?”, most people said that improving the quality of life, developing the economy and increasing order in the country can be achieve only in the Customs Union, an answer deemed paradoxical by the study authors.

The main conclusions of the poll are that the Moldovans' perception of the European Union and the Customs Union is largely emotional and irrational. Moldovan society is still deeply divided on social criteria. The attitude towards the EU, full of contradictions, is mostly due to negative stereotypes about the EU circulated by the Russian media.