Youth aspirtion survey in Republic of Macedonia Support for EU membership Young population in EU ( Euro barometer, December 2005) 63% Young population (YAS) 73,8% Table 10 into the EU progresses at a steady pace, such expectations should be perceived as realistic and parallel to the general economic expectations – bearing in mind that 87.1% of those respondents who think that the European integration process will positively influence economic development are also convinced that the economic situation will be better within the next few years. Additionally, 41.7% of the young people believe that their living conditions will improve to a certain degree. However, such opinions should not provoke hasty conclusions, as this data does not mean that the expectations for an improvement of the economic situation necessarily lead to expectations that the living standard will rise according to the younger population's desires. The data that 74.7% of Macedonia's youth are considering the possibility to emigrate, and that 78.3% would emigrate for financial reasons, reveals a reserve. On the other hand, bearing in mind the role of the EU not only in Macedonian society, but also in a wider regional context, 76.5% of the young people recognize the EU as a very important stabilizing factor. Such a perceptionis equally distributed throughout all demographic categories, including the ethnicones. In contrast to the attitudes towards NATO 34 , the EU – as a securing and stabilizing factor– enjoys equal support in both of the largest ethnic communities: the Macedonian and the Albanian. The recognition of the role that the European Union could play in upgrading democratic awareness is also obvious, as 75% of the respondents see the EU as a positive factor that will contribute towards the development of human rights in Macedonia. Practically, this view of one of the most important political criteria could help overcome the problem of negative attitudes towards the equal rights of some social groups 35 . See Table 11. A comparative analysis of the young people's opinions versus the general population's perceptions shows a greater optimism among the youth, especially regarding the positive influence of the integration process on economic development and the level of direct foreign investments. Such a trend is completely in accordance with the tendencies among all European youth regarding the importance of the integration process with regard to the strength and the development of economies. Thus, 68% of the youth in EU member-countries(as opposed to 56% of the whole population) is optimistic about the prospects for economic development. Such an optimism is even higher among the young population of the 10 newest member-countries (75%) 36 . Concerning all other parameters, the youth and the general population of Macedonia have almost identical opinions. A small disparity is present only in the attitudes about the influence of the European integration process on domestic politics, which points out a perception that the domestic political scene is little affected by the pressure of Macedonia's accession process. At the same time, bearing in mind the decreasing trend among the whole population(the period immediately after the positive opinion given by the European Commission is excluded 37 ), it may be expected that positive perceptions of the influence of the European integration process on internal affairs may diminish. Finally, this research also examined whether young What will be the influence on the following things by the integration of Macedonia to EU? YAS- Percentage of young people that have given a positive answer IDSCS research 33 % of respondents that have given positive answers Economic development Direct foreign investments Domestic politics Stability Human rights Technological development National values/ Identity 82,7% 85,1% 58,9% 76,5% 75,1% 77,4% 56,9% 75,7% 72,1% 65% 75% 76,3% 77,2% / Table 11 _____________________________________________________________ 33 Research conducted by the Institute for Democracy"Societas Civilis" – Skopje, for the needs of the Secretariat for European Issues, April 2006. 34 See page 30 35 See page 28 36 In"Youth takes the floor"-Young Europeans' concerns and expectations as to the development of the European Union(Background note based on relevant findings from Euro barometer data) Publication: December 2005, p.9. 37 If a comparison between the public opinion surveys regarding these problems is made, a decrease of the positive perception towards the Macedonian integration to EU's influence on the domestic policy is noticeable. Thus, in May 2004, the question"What will be the influence on the following things by the integration of Macedonia to EU: Domestic policy", received 79% positive responses; in December 2004, the same question received 67.3% positive responses. By December 2005, the support had increased to 78%, to again decrease to the lowest 65% in April 2006.- Polls conducted by the Institute for Democracy"Societas Civilis"-Skopje, for the needs of the Secretariat on European Issues, May 2004, December 2004, December 2005, April 2006. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung 28