Podgorica, (MINA) – Montenegrin citizens have most trust in the religious communities, police and the education system, while they have least trust in the media and political parties, the survey carried out by the Center for Civic Education (CGO) has demonstrated.

The public opinion survey on the role of the civil society in the process of democratization and Europeanization of Montenegro was conducted in the period between 18 and 24 January on the sample of 1012 persons by the Damar agency.

According to the survey data, the citizens’ trust in the institutions has been on the rise since 2021, although none still has the highest level of trust.

The citizens have most confidence in the religious communities, which have an average rating of 2.72, followed by the police and education system with 2.6, health care with 2.57 and the institution of the President 2.55.

Media and political parties are at the bottom of the list, while the prosecution registered the most significant rise of confidence.

CGO stated that the citizens, as most responsible for the benefit of the society, see the health system, the Government and the Parliament.

The survey demonstrated that the unemployment is being perceived as the most important problem, followed by the fight against corruption and organized crime and the improvement of the living standard.

CGO said that in comparison to the 2021 survey, Montenegro’s EU membership has been registering a downward trend in support, from 77.3% to 70.3%.

“The membership is opposed by 17.1 per cent, which is similar to the previous number, while the number of undecided is on the rise”, the press release adds.

The survey demonstrated that the majority of almost 60 per cent of the citizens believes that Montenegro is moving slowly or very slowly towards the EU, while 28% of the citizens believe that Montenegro will become a EU member in five years.

According to the survey results, almost one fifth of the citizens believe that Montenegro will never become a EU member.