Turkey and Albania least popular of EU hopefuls

Turkey and Albania least popular of EU hopefuls

There were wide discrepancies between member states with Austrians being the most hostile about Turks joining (81 percent), according to AFP.

They were followed in their opposition by the Germans and Luxembourgers at 69 percent, Cypriots at 68 percent and Greeks at 67 percent.

The phrasing of the question on Turkey showed that respondents would be against the idea even if Ankara fulfilled all the bloc's criteria for getting into the club.

The Spanish, meanwhile, were the least opposed to Turkish membership with only 23 percent of respondents against the idea.

Europeans are more favourable to Balkan countries joining the EU although they are not enthusiastic, the survey reveals,

The poll found that 56 percent of respondents are in favour of Croatia joining, 49 percent in support of Macedonia, 48 percent for Bosnia and 47 percent for Serbia.

However, only 41 percent of respondents said they are in favour of Albania joining the EU - while a majority of 44 percent is against Tirana's accession.

More broadly, only 45 percent of Europeans support further enlargement of the bloc while 42 percent oppose it.

"European Union citizens do not perceive enlargement as a win-win situation; while they consider that the 2004 enlargement process benefits the new member states, they are more concerned about the problems that could arise," the researchers concluded.

"Furthermore they consider future accessions as primarily in the interest of the
candidate and potential countries and fear the consequences for the economic situation of their own country."

EU expansion records more supporters than opponents in Greece, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and the UK.

But at the other end of the spectrum, more than 60 percent of the German, Luxembourg, French, Austrian and Finnish interviewees disapprove of the idea.