Czech trust in EU hits all-time low: survey

(PRAGUE) - Czech confidence in the European Union has hit an all-time low, with fewer than one in two Czechs now trusting the 27-nation bloc, the Mediafax news agency said Wednesday, citing a survey by the STEM pollsters.

Only 46 percent of Czechs have confidence in the EU, which the Czech Republic joined in 2004, said the agency which polled 1,246 respondents at the turn of January and February.

In the past, the percentage of Czechs trusting the EU reached as much as 60 percent, it added.

Czechs also showed low trust in the European Parliament, with just 39 percent of respondents voicing confidence in the institution.

Younger and wealthier people with higher education and voting for right-wing parties tended to express support to the EU more frequently.

"We may draw a link between the outcome and the unusually low willingness of Czech citizens to join the euro," said STEM.

STEM said a month ago some 22 percent of Czechs were in favour of euro adoption, the lowest figure since STEM had started to monitor the issue in 2005.

In the wake of the eurozone's debt crisis, two out of three Czechs also appreciated the decision by the centre-right government led by Petr Necas not to deal with eurozone accession during its term ending in 2014.