Polish voters are among those least likely to take part in elections in the EU, according to a report by the Foundation for Future Studies (FFS).

Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen (FFS) prepared a report based on 12,000 interviews done in eight EU countries, in anticipation of the June 7 elections for the European Parliament. The report confirms that Poles are one of the most disillusioned by politics in the 27 nation bloc.

The report shows that 68 percent of Poles think that their vote has no meaning, while the Europe-wide average is 49 percent.

“In Poland, in a relatively short period of time, there have been many important political changes. The research shows that many people are not experienced in the diversity of political institutions and the result is that people do not vote,” argues Ulrich Reinhardt, director of FFS.

According to the report, Poles place themselves amongst the least interested in the June elections and think themselves to be, “one of the most apathetic electorates”.

Recent opinion polls point to under 15 percent of the Polish electorate intends to vote on June 7.

“This attitude shows that Poles are far more skeptical than the Spanish or Italians, of whom 23 and 27 percent respectively hold a similar opinion,” reads the report.

The FFS report covers citizens of Austria, France, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Poland and Russia and Switzerland for comparison purposes. Over 12,000 people participated in the research done in March 2009.  (mmj/pg)