Only 4 in 10 people rate Belgian EU presidency as 'positive'
Only 37.6 per cent of Belgians consider the performance of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union to be have been positive, according to a survey commissioned by the Université libre de Bruxelles and published by Le Soir.
The Belgian presidency in the first half of 2024 has failed to excite the public, the newspaper reports. However, it points out that Belgium's rating in European circles is much higher.
While 37.6 per cent of respondents have a positive view of the presidency, 21.7 per cent are uninformed, 23.8 per cent are uncertain and 16.8 per cent have a negative view.
In the first round of the survey, only 15.7 per cent of respondents thought the Belgian presidency would bring about positive change in Europe, while 10 per cent said it would not. Meanwhile, 53.6 per cent were neither hopeful nor worried.
Only 37.2 per cent of respondents believe the presidency has strengthened Belgium's position on the European and international stage, while 36.9 per cent expressed the opposite opinion, with 26 per cent not answering.
28.1 per cent of the respondents think that the media have given adequate coverage to the presidency, while 41.6 per cent wanted to see more. 21.7 per cent had no opinion and 8.6 per cent felt overwhelmed by the information.
© PHOTO XINHUA/ZHAO DINGZHE
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