A fifth of all Bulgarian households, possessing a car, were ready to give up the vehicle for environmental protection purposes, a poll of Alfa Research agency showed.

Environmental protection features among the most important topics for Bulgarians alongside culture and EU accession, Sega newspaper reported.

The EU was expected to exercise pressure over Bulgaria in implementing EU ecological standards, Alfa Research representative Stanislav Stoyanov said.

Concerning the contribution of Bulgarians, most citizens believe that efficient energy usage is among their priority aims. Nearly a third of all Bulgarians were ready to minimise their water consumption.

Stoyanov said such tendencies resulted from the economic difficulties households experienced rather than from concern over the environment.

Almost 41 per cent of all people who participated in the survey said they were ready to buy a product aiding environmental protection, regardless of the price.