Slovaks would not prevent the homeland, they are increasingly pro -Russian (charts)

BRATISLAVA. If Slovakia was attacked by another state, less than half of the population would be defended. While in neighboring Poland, 84 percent of people would be built in the defense of their homeland, only 49 percent of respondents in Slovakia.

This stems from the Globsec Trends survey, which examines the views of the population in nine countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Paradoxically, while in Slovakia, the willingness to defend the homeland is the lowest in the region, Slovaks agree to increase defense spending and are also for voluntary military service. More than 60 percent also agrees that Slovakia should help if another Member State is attacked NATO.

The survey also shows that Mask It is increasingly acceptable with the progress of the years and that clear military support is declining across the region Ukraine. However, Slovakia is also protruding in this case.

See eight graphs, which result from a survey of GLOBSEC. The survey was created in BulgariaRomania, Czech Republic, Estonia, LithuaLatvia, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in February and March on a representative sample of 1000 inhabitants for each country.

1. Most would not hinder Slovakia

In eight out of nine countries, most people are willing to fight for their homeland. However, Slovakia is an exception and only 49 percent would go to defend the country in the event of an attack.

The confidence in the armed forces is 67 percent in Slovakia.

2. Most approves more money to defend

Not only US President Donald Trumpbut also US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeated several times that NATO Member States should increase defense spending to at least 5 percent of their GDP. Until recently, most countries did not meet the required two percent limit.

But it has changed Russian invasion to Ukraine. More than three percent of the defense currently gives five Member States – GreeceLatvia, United States, Estonia and Poland.

However, the pressure to increase defense budgets will also increase from the US. Most of the addressed residents agree.

In six out of nine countries surveyed, more than 80 percent of respondents also claim that their country should do more in the possibility of providing voluntary military service for its inhabitants, in Slovakia it is 68 percent.

3. In NATO they want to stay Hungarians and Romanians

Despite criticism of investment in defense from several politicians, the support of membership in the North Atlantic Alliance is steadily high across the region – 82 percent of respondents in nine countries would remain in NATO.

Up to 74 percent of respondents in the region also believe that NATO membership reduces the risk of attacking a foreign country. Slovakia is on this issue at the end of the ranking just ahead of Bulgaria, the deterrent character of the Alliance perceives 65 percent of the Slovaks surveyed.

The collective defense is also supported by most people in the region – paradoxically in Slovakia, where 60 percent of respondents agree with the help of another contested country, even if their own state would defend less than half.

4. Union has support despite criticism

EU membership support is equally relatively high, in any of the countries surveyed would be currently in case referendum He did not threaten to leave European structures. Trends are also changing – while Estonia’s support has fallen by eight percentage points year -on -year, it increased especially in Romania.

In the Romanian and Hungarian political debate, the attacks on Brussels are quite common. The results of the survey show that they do not have such an impact on voters. EU membership support has also increased by three percentage points in Slovakia.

5. Ukraine is to lose the territory, with attacks on Russia agrees half

With the continuing war in Ukraine, the moods in countries that are immediately neighbors with it are changing or far away. Only in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, most people think that NATO countries should supply Ukraine’s requested military assistance to help her win the war against Russia.

In Slovakia, 34 percent of respondents agree. On the contrary, 63 percent of Slovaks think that the supply of military assistance unnecessarily prolongs the war. This is the highest number in the region, for example in Latvia, only 28 percent of people agree.

Only half of the Slovaks and Bulgarians and 48 percent of the Hungarians say that Ukraine has the right to attack the Russian territory in response to the Russian invasion.

More than half of the Slovaks also think that Ukraine should give up part of its territory in the interests of peace.

« Attitudes to Ukraine in the region largely copy political discourse in countries. Where the question of supporting Ukraine is basically clear across the political spectrum, the attitudes of the population are more clearly, although not uncritical. cheap Ukrainian products are damaging farmers in Europe, ”adds Dominika Hajda, director of the Center for Democracy and Globsec’s durability.

6. Ukraine in NATO would not bring the security to the majority

The support of Ukraine membership in NATO is 46 percent, just a little more than the support of EU membership. At the same time, Globsec asked in countries whether citizens would perceive Ukrainian membership as an improvement in security and economic benefits.

Especially in Poland, Romania and Slovakia in connection with Ukrainian EU membership in the EU, feel concerned about the influx of cheap Ukrainian products that would harm European farmers. More than 70 percent of respondents have this concern in these three countries.

7. Partners are Germans, but also Russians

Germany remains the most important strategic partner for Slovakia and six other countries in the region. However, Slovakia is beyond (along with Bulgaria) in that more and more people perceive both a strategic partner and Russia.

The reason is, according to Globsec, also the rhetoric of the Slovak government or the roads of the Prime Minister Robert Fico to Moscow. While last year, Russia described 27 percent of Slovaks as one of the two strategic partners, this year this number increased to 32 percent.

For example, Poles perceive the largest partner of the United States.

8. American threat in Slovakia

The previous question is also related to who Slovakia perceives as the greatest threat. For a long time, the trend in Slovakia has been different from the neighboring countries.

Currently 50 percent of Slovaks perceive Russia as a security threat (in the case of Poland it is up to 86 percent, in the Czech Republic 74 percent). On more detailed questions about the form of threat by Russia, Slovaks have the greatest concerns about the growing number of spies (71 percent), the invasion in the neighboring country (59 percent), but also from local politicians or journalists (57 percent).

However, as many as 35 percent of people addressed in Slovakia are a threat to the United States, which is most in the region. With the advent of Donald Trump’s administration, this figure has increased in several countries under review.

China, in turn, represents a threat to 53 percent of Czechs and 48 percent of Lithuanians, in Slovakia it is perceived by 33 percent of respondents.