20:40 15 December 2022
Visegrad countries view Ukrainian refugees positively
Slovakia is the only Visegrad Group country where refugees fleeing Ukraine are mostly viewed negatively by the public, according to a survey conducted by the think tank Globsec.
Participants in the survey were asked whether they viewed the presence of refugees from Ukraine in their countries positively or negatively. In Slovakia, 52 percent of respondents said they viewed them negatively, while only 42 percent said they felt positive emotions toward them. Refugees are best perceived in Poland, where 85 percent of people see them positively and only 11 percent negatively. In Hungary, 82 percent of citizens view refugees positively and 15 percent negatively, while in the Czech Republic, 73 percent view them positively and 25 percent negatively.
"One of the main factors for negative perceptions is the fear of the host population that assistance to refugees will negatively affect their economic situation," Patrik Szicherle, one of the authors of the report and a researcher at the Centre for Democracy and Resilience at Globsec, explained.
