REVEALED: The most eurosceptic country in the EU (and it isn’t Britain!)
DESPITE Britain’s impending exit from the European Union it has been revealed that the UK is not the bloc’s most eurosceptic member.
A new report, compiled by the European Commission, has shed light on how EU citizens feel about the bloc, with a few surprising outcomes.
According to European Commission data, Greece is the most eurosceptic member state with 41 per cent of those surveyed revealing a negative opinion of the European Union.
Greece has endured a difficult relationship with the EU for many years but the financial crisis that followed the 2007-08 global crash saw ties between Athens and Brussels plummet.
The country required bailout loans but was still forced to adopt a series of austerity measures, which prompted widespread protests as a series of spending cuts and reforms did nothing to improve relations between the EU and Greek officials.
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The Czech Republic is the second-most eurosceptic country according to the data, with the country’s growing dislike of the EU evident in the election of Andrej Babis, a billionaire former entrepreneur who has indicated he has no plans more further European integration.
EU data shows 39 per cent of the Czechs surveyed had a negative view of the EU, compared to 58 per cent who saw the bloc in a positive light.
Britain was the third most anti-European member state, with a third of Britons polled revealing negative views about the bloc.
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Meanwhile, Lithuania topped the list of the most pro-EU countries with 91 per cent of respondents holding the bloc in a positive light.
The tiny Baltic country is home to just 2.8 million people but it is a full member of the eurozone and the Schengen Agreement and boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the bloc.
Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are the next most pro-EU countries, according the the European Commission report.
Overall the majority of respondents (75 per cent) have a positive view of the EU, with 19 per cent saying their view is very positive. One in five (20 per cent) have a negative view, with just five per cent saying it is very negative.
The data also reveals that younger respondents were more likely to have a positive view of the bloc than their elders.
People aged 15-39 were the most likely to have a positive view of the EU (79 per cent), particularly compared to those aged 55 and over (70 per cent).
