site.btaMost Young People in North Macedonia View EU Positively, Yet Nearly Half Doubt Country Will Ever Join – Survey

Most young people in the Republic of North Macedonia have a positive attitude towards the European Union, but nearly half do not believe their country will ever become an EU member, according to a survey conducted in June 2025 in cooperation with the Studentarija platform, with the participation of the Institute for Good Governance and Euro-Atlantic Perspectives – Skopje, the European Centre for Excellence – Brussels, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

According to the study, young people in the country view the EU as a positive example but feel distant from the process of European integration. The authors of the research emphasize that youth should be treated as active partners rather than mere observers, local media report.

The results show that 41% of young people in North Macedonia have a positive attitude towards the EU, 24% hold a negative view, and 35% describe their position as “neutral.”

Regarding the country’s EU membership prospects, 46.5% of respondents do not believe North Macedonia will ever join the EU, 35.8% think it might happen but only in the distant future, and just 6.7% expect the country to become a member within the next five years.

The main obstacle to integration, according to 84.6% of respondents, is corruption, followed by bilateral disputes (61%) and low institutional trust (60%). Young people in North Macedonia identify the domestic political context as the biggest challenge, calling for concrete anti-corruption measures and greater accountability.

More than half of those surveyed (53%) believe they are adequately informed about EU policies, while 22% say they are “very well informed.”

The areas that most attract the interest of young people are employment and living opportunities in the EU (76.2%), educational programmes (55.1%), human rights (50%), environmental protection (48%), and digitalization (44.5%).

Over 70% of young respondents describe themselves as socially inactive, with only 8% participating in political or civic initiatives. According to media reports, this reflects a “widespread sense of powerlessness” and highlights the need for proactive measures to engage young people in democratic life.

When asked which Western Balkan country has the best chance of joining the EU within the next five years, 53% named Albania, followed by Montenegro (34.5%) and Serbia (14.7%).

The online survey covered 1,000 young people, 81.5% of whom were students.