INSCOP:Almost 90% of Romanians believe that it is in national interest for Romania to remain in EU and NATO

   Almost 61% of Romanians believe that things in Romania are heading in the wrong direction, while 89.7% believe that it is in the national interest for Romania to remain in the EU and NATO, shows the latest INSCOP Research sociological study, "Population's Attitude Regarding Economic Patriotism and Vulnerabilities of the Democratic Regime", conducted at the behest of the Concordia Employers' Confederation.Corruption, which amplifies injustices in society, is Romania's biggest problem for 44% of respondents, political instability and its effects on good governance for 21.8% of Romanians, the precarious state of democracy that limits people's freedom to choose their president for 17.2% of respondents, and for 15.1% it is economic problems that cause a decrease in purchasing power."The sociological research, the most extensive of its kind conducted in recent years, dismantles a series of false stories inserted into the public debate by populist and extremist voices, such as the fact that Romanians reject foreign investments, that they have become anti-European or that economic patriotism is reduced to the Romanian CNP of the one who creates added value in the Romanian economy. The INSCOP study tells us that Romanians, for the most part, wisely see the advantages of investments in Romania, massively want to join the European Union and NATO (almost 90%), but in return want the country to better negotiate its interests in the EU. On the other hand, they are also starting to appreciate state-owned companies, provided that they are managed correctly and do not believe that Romania has full control over its economic or political decisions. Also, the democratic regime and the rule of law are vulnerable in conditions in which Romanians believe that the main problem of "The country's main problems are corruption, that laws are not applied equally to everyone, and elections are influenced by other states. Finally, in the current security context, Romanians (over 75%) strongly support increasing defense spending," said INSCOP Research director Remus ?tefureac, in a statement sent on Thursday.In turn, the executive director of the Concordia Employers' Confederation, believes that Romanians see companies as an engine of stability and progress. "We need an authentic pact between the business environment, society and the state; an agreement that is based on trust and supports coherent and balanced growth. The study shows that Romanians see companies as an engine of stability and progress. It is time to capitalize on this openness to lay the foundations of a healthy economy that works for everyone," Burnete stressed.According to the study, 60.9% of Romanians believe that things in Romania are heading in the wrong direction, while 28% believe that they are heading in the right direction.Regarding membership in the EU and NATO, 89.7% of Romanians believe that it is in the national interest for Romania to remain in the EU and NATO, while 6.4% are of the opposite opinion.The study also shows that 40.6% of those surveyed believe that Romania's membership in the European Union limits national sovereignty too much, while 51.6% are of the opposite opinion.Regarding the protection of economic interests in the EU, 80.7% of Romanians believe that, in order to protect its economic interests, Romania should negotiate more favorable conditions within the European Union, 10% should do nothing, because economic and national interests are protected. Only 4.8% believe that Romania should leave the European Union.When asked how they consider the level of foreign investment in Romania compared to European Union countries, 8.4% of survey participants believe it is much higher, 9.3% somewhat higher, 26.3% somewhat lower, 24.4% much lower, and 21.3% approximately the same."67.9% of Romanians would like foreign investments in Romania to increase, 14.8% would like them to decrease, and 14.5% would like them to remain the same. The non-response rate is 2.8%," the cited study shows.Romanians' opinion about multinational companies investing in Romania is generally good (71.1%), while 24.6% have a bad opinion. Likewise, the opinion about EU companies investing in Romania is good for 73.6% of respondents, and bad for 18.3%.The study also shows the opinion about Romanian companies investing in other countries, where 61.5% of those surveyed responded that they have a good opinion, while 29.6% have a bad opinion."People with higher education and people with high and very high incomes have a good opinion about Romanian companies investing in other countries, while the bad opinion is found especially among people with primary education and people with very low and low incomes," the INSCOP study reveals.Romanians also have a good opinion about Romanian companies expanding in the EU, respectively 82.1% of those interviewed, while 12% have a bad opinion.Also, 49.7% of respondents agree with the statement "The Romanian Government should promote the same rules for Romanian and foreign companies alike". 46.4% agree with the statement "The Romanian Government should promote preferential rules to support Romanian companies, even if this would discourage investments by foreign/multinational companies"."I believe that the Romanian Government should promote preferential rules to support Romanian companies, even if this would discourage investments by foreign/multinational companies, especially people aged between 30 and 44 and state employees. I believe that the Romanian Government should promote the same rules for both Romanian and foreign companies, especially residents of the Capital and people with very high incomes," the survey also shows.According to the cited source, 56.2% of respondents believe that Romania would benefit if there were more state-owned companies on the domestic market. On the other hand, 38.7% believe that Romania would benefit if there were more private companies on the domestic market.The study shows that people with primary education and very low incomes believe that Romania would benefit if there were more state-owned companies on the domestic market, while people with higher education and very high incomes share the opposite opinion.At the same time, 62.9% of Romanians believe that there is a risk that some foreign/multinational companies will leave Romania in the next period, 30.6% are of the opinion that this risk does not exist.The study reveals that 53.1% of those interviewed believe that Romania would lose if there were fewer foreign/multinational companies on the domestic market, 39.6% are of the opinion that Romania would gain in such a scenario."I believe that Romania would lose if there were fewer foreign/multinational companies on the domestic market, especially people between the ages of 45 and 59, people with higher education and people with high and very high incomes. I share the opposite opinion, especially people with primary education and people with low and very low incomes," the sociological research shows.In the opinion of 30.5% of respondents, the most important condition for a company to be considered a Romanian campaign is that the company pays its taxes in Romania. The condition that the majority of employees are Romanian is the most important for 20.5% of those interviewed. 18.3% mention having Romanian shareholders/owners, 16.9% the brand/mark being Romanian, and 9.1% having the headquarters in Romania.In the opinion of 77.8% of those interviewed, it is in Romania's national interest for the state to support foreign companies that pay taxes in Romania, 20% are of the opposite opinion.The sociological research also shows that 61% of those interviewed consider that it is in Romania's national interest for the state to support Romanian companies that wish to invest abroad, while 35.4% are of the opposite opinion."79.5% of respondents believe that it is in Romania's national interest for the state to support foreign companies that collaborate closely with Romanian companies, 17.5% are of the opposite opinion, and 3% do not know or do not answer. Also, 77.2% of Romanians believe that it is in Romania's national interest for the Romanian state to support Romanian companies that want to acquire foreign companies in Romania," the document states.At the same time, 15.8% of Romanians believe that "Romania has full control over its political decisions" to a very large extent, 25.8% to a fairly large extent, 24.4% to a fairly small extent and 29.5% to a very small extent or not at all.Regarding control over economic decisions, 11.3% of Romanians believe that "Romania has full control over its economic decisions" to a very large extent, 23.9% to a fairly large extent, 29% to a fairly small extent and 29.9% to a very small extent or not at all.The research also shows that 12.6% of Romanians believe that "the law is applied equally to all citizens" to a very large extent, 17.2% to a fairly large extent, 25.9% to a fairly small extent and 42.6% to a very small extent or not at all.According to the cited source, 40.9% of Romanians believe that "the election of the president depends only on the citizens' vote" to a very large extent, 24.6% to a fairly large extent, 12.6% to a fairly small extent and 19.6% to a very small extent or not at all.Regarding the influence of presidential elections by other states, 32.6% of Romanians believe that "the election of the president is strongly influenced by the hostile actions of other states" to a very large extent, 28.5% to a fairly large extent, 17.1% to a fairly small extent and 18.1% to a very small extent or not at all.Asked what Romania's biggest problem is at the moment, 44% of respondents chose the option "corruption that amplifies injustices in society", 21.8% "political instability and its effects on good governance", 17.2% "the precarious state of democracy that limits people's freedom to choose their president", and 15.1% "economic problems that cause a decrease in purchasing power".In the context of recent discussions about Europe reducing its military dependence on the US and NATO by increasing defense spending, respondents were asked if they would agree with such a perspective for Romania to defend its sovereignty in the event of military aggression. 76.2% support such an increase in defense spending, while 21.1% are opposed.Last but not least, 77.1% of Romanians believe that the withdrawal of NATO troops from Eastern Europe would affect Romania's national security, while 20.3% share the opposite opinion.The survey was conducted by INSCOP Research at the request of the Concordia Employers' Confederation. The data were collected between March 13 and 17, 2025. Research method: sociological survey using a questionnaire. The data were collected using the CATI method (telephone interviews), the volume of the stratified multistage sample being 1000 people, representative of significant socio-demographic categories (sex, age, occupation) for the non-institutionalized population of Romania, aged 18 and over. The maximum allowed error of the data is ? 3.1%, at a confidence level of 95%.