According to a recent poll conducted by ICM Research exclusively for Sputnik News Agency, the majority of Serbs and Bulgarians say the decision to scrap the South Stream gas pipeline project will hurt their countries’ economies, with Austrians being more optimistic about the outlook for their gas supplies.
64 percent of Bulgarians and 61 percent of Serbs fear the cancellation of the project to bring Russian gas to Central and Southern Europe will negatively affect their economies, while only 38 percent of Austrians expect negative repercussions.
The majority of people in the countries that were to host the South Stream gas pipeline also said that it should not have been up to the European Commission to decide whether to give the green light to the project that was to bring Russian natural gas to Europe, the poll showed.
The survey revealed that 66 percent of respondents in Bulgaria and 52 percent in Serbia believe their countries should have had the final say on the matter. In Austria, 42 percent said the decision was theirs to make, while 46 percent said it was rightfully left to the European Commission, the European Union’s executive body.
The poll was conducted among 3000 residents in Austria, Serbia and Bulgaria between January 12 and 30, 2015.
Sputnik.Polls International Public Opinion Research Project
International public opinion research project Sputnik.Polls was launched in 2014, in conjunction with British public opinion survey leaders ICM Research. Sputnik.Polls conducts regular opinion polls to monitor public sentiment toward social, political and cultural issues in Europe and the United States.
