A survey published on Tuesday showed that around half of Albanians are optimistic on obtaining a candidate status of the European Union (EU) for Albania in June 2014, according to ATSH news agency.
The results of the survey "European Perspective of Albania: 2014 Perceptions and Realities" conducted by the Institute for International Studies (AIIS) says that 49.1 percent of Albanians have said "yes" in connection with Albania's prospect of obtaining the candidate status in June versus 28.3 percent who have replied "no".
The AIIS survey measures the perception and perspectives of individuals on key issues related to the process of Albania's accession, such as: Will Albania obtain the candidate status this June? Was the European Council decision fair in December, 2013? Is support for EU integration declining? How optimistic the Albanians feel about their European future? etc.
Concerning the failure to obtain the candidate status in December, 2013, 37.6 percent of those surveyed blame the Albanian government, 29.8 percent blame political parties and 13.7 percent all EU governments.
According to AIIS, comparison with the previous survey's findings shows the support of Albanians towards EU integration is on decline. In 2013 this support was 85 percent, in 2014 it dropped to 77 percent.