Citizens of Serbia are almost equally divided about the relations between Belgrade and Pristina in two poles, but also uninformed about the negotiations and the unresolved dialogue on Kosovo. Slight majority of young people consider that Kosovo is lost.
Institute for European Affairs in cooperation with Ninamedia research house conducted a research of public opinion from March 16th to 20th about opinions of citizens of Serbia about Kosovo. The research is done on representative sample from 1203 respondents. Topics of research were: is it Kosovo lost, internal dialogue, division of Kosovo, is it possible that Serbia has full sovereignty in Kosovo again.
Citizens’ views on whether Kosovo is lost are almost perfectly divided between those who consider it to be lost and those who disagree with it. 45% of citizens think that Kosovo is not lost for Serbia, 43% of citizens think that it is. With higher level of education, there is a growing number of citizens who believe that Kosovo is lost – up to 50%. Kosovo is definitely lost for only 30% of older citizens in the 60+ group. Only 3.4% of citizens said they participated in the internal dialogue on Kosovo, while 94% did not. It is also noticed that with the increase in education, the number of those who participated in the dialogue is growing.
A third of Serbia’s citizens would support the division of Kosovo, while 56% would not. The idea of dividing Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians is shared more by elderly citizens, while with the higher level of education, there is also a growing number of those who believe that Kosovo should be divided.
The recognition of Kosovo by this or some of the next government for 55% of citizens will not happen, while a quarter believes that this or the next government will recognize independence. As the number of years of age increases, the number of citizens who think that this government will recognize Kosovo decreases. On the other hand, with increase in education level, this number also increases.
81% of citizens would not support Kosovo’s independence even as a condition for membership in the European Union, while 11% would support it. Men by 9% more than women think that independence should not be recognized as a condition for the EU. There are also significant differences in age. Young people up to 44 years are more likely to be on average 10% more to support independence than those aged 45 or older. Recognition of Kosovo’s independence, if it is a condition for the EU, and a positive attitude about it grows slowly with an increase in education.
Finally, there is a complete division of Serbian citizens about the view whether it is achievable for Serbia to have full control and sovereignty in Kosovo in the future. 45% of the citizens believe it is not possible that Serbia ever has full sovereignty in Kosovo, while 42% of respondents consider it possible.
Belgrade, March 27, 2018
