Europe but not EU can mean anything from Switzerland to Bosnia and Herzegovina to Moldova to Belarus, so it could be good or pretty bad.
My guess would be Serbia, that's the typical attitude towards the EU there (not to mention not-so-subtle pro-Russian stance). The only place which sees the EU in worse light would probably be Belarus or Russia.
Why not the UK?
Generally British people wouldn't say "heart of Europe". If anything when talking about Europe they mean continental Europe and don't include the British Isles in that.