Almost three quarters of Cypriots “tend to not trust” the government or parliament and 56 per cent do not trust the EU, according to the autumn Eurobarometer.

The tendency not to trust national institutions in Cyprus rose three points since the Spring Eurobarometer.

In six EU member states a majority of the population said they trust their national government: Luxembourg (76 per cent), Denmark (58 per cent), Poland (51 per cent), Belgium (50 per cent), Austria (48 per cent) and Ireland (48 per cent).

In 21 countries however, a majority of respondents distrust their national government, with the highest levels seen in Slovenia (80 per cent), France (78 per cent), as well as in Greece and Cyprus (both 74 per cent).

Distrust in the Cyprus parliament came in at the same level.

As far as trusting the EU goes, Cyprus joined four others in the top five: Slovenia (58 per cent), France (56 per cent), Cyprus (56 per cent), Greece (56 per cent) and Czechia (52 per cent). Some 44 per cent of Cypriots were also pessimistic about the future of the EU along with the same countries.

Cyprus was also one of three countries with Greece and Czechia, where people do not have a feeling of attachment to the EU.

More than half of respondents felt this way with Greece topping the list with 63 per cent feeling this detachment, n Czechia 54 per cent and Cyprus 51 per cent.

In Cyprus, 94 per cent said they were attached to their country compared with the EU average of 90 per cent.

An absolute majority of respondents feel attached to the EU in 24 member states. The feeling of attachment is highest in Luxembourg (82 per cent), Latvia (78 per cent) and Poland (76 per cent).

As far as what concerns Cypriots the most in terms of current issues, immigration held the top spot.
“Most notably, 50 per cent of respondents in Cyprus mention this issue as well as more than one in four respondents (45 per cent) in the Netherlands,” the barometer said.

Cypriots also differed to their European counterparts on Ukraine.

Almost 60 per cent in Cyprus were against imposing economic sanctions on Russian government, companies and individuals compared with the EU average of 24 per cent.

When it came to granting candidate status to Ukraine as a potential member of the EU, 53 per cent in Cyprus opposed the idea compared with 34 per cent across the rest of the bloc.

On financing the purchase and supply of military equipment to Ukraine, a whopping 74 per cent in Cyprus disagreed in comparison with only 37 per cent on average in the EU.