people perceive that joining the EU will influence their identity and Macedonia's national values. It is quite interesting that this is one of the pioneering attempts to study how young people feel about this intriguing topic (which is very relevant within the framework of the debate about Europe's future). On average, half of the young people in Macedonia consider that the European integration process will have a positive influence on traditional values and national identity. On the other hand, 12.4% envision a negative influence. These findings point out a certain division, whereby the positive opinions are more aptly interpreted as a feeling that EU membership acts as a cohesive substance which fosters a sense of European identity, but not as an acceptance of the priority of the European identity over the national one. In favour of this idea is the data from the European Union itself, where only 3% of the young people identify themselves as European only, and this proportion among the young population in the new ten member-countries is even less, amounting to only 1%. 38 On the other hand, having both a European and a national identity is reported by 58% of the youth, which is similar to the proportion of young Macedonians who expect that the European integration process will have a positive impact on national identity and traditional values. It should also be mentioned that this positive impact is expected more by the young people of the Albanian community(67.3%) than by young Macedonians(54.1%). A process of informing young people about the organisation and functioning of the EU, as well as the values inherent to the European concept, would eventually result in a stronger and more-developed European identity. Personal expectations related to Macedonia's joining the European Union are also very high. Thus, 72% of the young people in the country believe that this process will provide more possibilities for their personal future prospects, while 15% of them consider that there won't be any influence on their further career. This high percentage reveals strong positive expectations for personal possibilities created by the European integration process. At the same time, 44.6% of the respondents who consider that their living conditions will be improved in the future believe that this improvement will be a consequence of opportunities created by EU accession. Young people's estimations of the actual time frame when Macedonia would become a member of the European Union are to a certain degree in accordance with expert predictions. Hence, 33.2% of the respondents, consider that Macedonia will become a EU member-country within the next ten years. A similar percentage, 29.4%, see Macedonia joining the EU after 2016. Compared to the views of the general population on this matter, the views of the youth are more objective and less optimistic regarding the pace of the reform process and the fulfilment of requirements for membership. Thus, the percentage of the general population who consider that Macedonia will become a EU member-country within the next five years is 26.7%, which is 10% more than found among young respondents. Moreover, a slightly higher percentage of the young respondents consider that it is a realistic assumption that Macedonia needs more than five years for an eventual European Union membership. On this topic, the perceptions of the two largest ethnic groups, the Macedonians and the Albanians, is revealing. Among the young respondents from the Albanian community, there is greater optimism that Macedonia will be granted EU membership by 2011(22.4% of Albanians, 12.7% of Macedonians). In contrast, a greater percentage of young Macedonians believe it will take longer than five years to gain membership. When speaking about the general population(not just the youth), this difference in expectations becomes more pronounced. 39 Generally speaking, the integration process of the Republic of Macedonia to the European Union finds very strong support among the young population. European integration is perceived as a very important factor for the improvement of the situation in several social spheres, and, at the same time, the expectation for economic improvement is highlighted the most. EU membership is perceived to offer new possibilities and better living conditions for the majority of the young citizens. Expectations for the accession of Macedonia to the European Union are realistic and coincide with the experts' opinions. See Table 12. An overarching view of all data from this research YAS- Percentage of young people who declared that Macedonia will become a EU member-country: Early Warning Report- UNDP 40 Percentage of respondents who declared that Macedonia will become a EU member-country: Within the next 5 years Within the next 10 years More than 10 years(at EWR 15 years) Never No answer/ Don't know 15,9% 33,2% 29,4% 11% 10,4% 26,7% 27,7% 25% 13,9% 6,4% Table 12. Prediction for the EU membership _____________________________________________________________ 38 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. 8. 39 So, according to data from the Early Warning Report of UNDP(March 2006)(available at www.ewr.org.mk.), even 53.2% of the Albanians, opposite to 18.2% of the Macedonians consider that Macedonia will become a member-country of the European Union within the period of the next five years. 40 Data taken from Early Warning Report of UNDP(March 2006) available on www.ewr.org.mk. 41 Thus, for 62% of the young European Union population it means freedom of travelling, studying and working. Among the youth of the ten new member­countries, this perception is even higher and it amounts to 76%. Source: 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.3 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung 29