73% of respondents in Latvia, as concluded by the latest study carried out by “Latvijas Fakti”, “The inhabitant awareness and apprehension of European Union funds in 2019”, rate the investments of European Union (EU) funds in Latvia as a success, which is higher than in all previous opinion polls about EU funds since Latvia joined the EU.
“The 4.4 billion EUR of EU funding available during this planning period is essential for the growth of Latvia, and it has made an invaluable contribution to GDP growth and the promotion of employment. During this period, we have focused on sound and well-grounded investments to ensure the efficient, sustainable and advisable input of financial resources. The main measure is the achieving of results that would be felt by every inhabitant of Latvia. Therefore, such public opinion is really important, as it reflects the successful use of EU funds in Latvia,” emphasizes Armands Eberhards, Deputy State Secretary for EU Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds Issues.
According to the latest public opinion poll results, almost all (97%) of the Latvian population have heard that Latvia has access to European Union funds; this is more than in any public opinion poll up to this date.
Similar to that measured in public opinion polls conducted in previous years, this year the national television is again considered the most convincing source of information on the use of EU funds in Latvia. 59% of inhabitants in Latvia receive information about EU funds and their supported projects via television. Next on the list of major sources of information are radio, project information boards, social media, and regional and national press.
The positive trend observed in previous years continues - the number of respondents satisfied with the amount of information available about EU funds has risen (83%). As in previous years, in 2019 more than two-thirds (66%) of inhabitants in Latvia had heard about a specific project which was carried out with or with the help of EU funds.
From the point of view of the inhabitants in Latvia, the areas where the EU funds support has given the highest returns are the road and transport system’s improvement (49% of respondents), agriculture (33%), environment management (water handling facilities and waste management) (33%), and the restoration of cultural and historical objects (31%).
The majority of the inhabitants in Latvia mentioned health and social care (57%), employment promotion (41% of respondents) and improvement of the road and transport system (37%) as the priority areas for further investment from the EU funds. Next in the list of priority areas are education development (30%) and support to farmers (cited by 26% of respondents).
A public opinion poll on the awareness of inhabitants regarding the EU funds was conducted by the Market and Social Research Agency “Latvijas Fakti” using the direct interview method at respondents' places of residence. The questionnaire included 1007 Latvian residents by stratified randomness, aged 18 to 74. The results of the survey are available in Latvian on EU funds website.
