Survey: Four out of ten Germans against Ukraine joining the EU
Almost four out of ten Germans are against Ukraine joining the EU, according to a survey. In the survey, 39 percent of Germans said they were against accession, while 37 percent were in favor, according to the think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). The rejection is even more pronounced in Austria, where 52% are against Ukraine's accession.
The ECFR published the "flash poll" in six member states shortly before the EU summit on Thursday, at which the heads of state and government actually want to give the green light for accession negotiations with Ukraine. However, Hungary is still threatening a veto. The EU is already meeting on Wednesday for a summit with the Western Balkan countries, which are also hoping to join.
According to the survey, Germans are also skeptical about enlargement overall: 50 percent of Germans believe that the EU should not accept any new members "at the present time". The situation is similar in Austria, Denmark and France, while many in Romania and Poland are in favor.
Due to the skepticism among the population, ECFR experts Piotr Buras and Engjellushe Morina recommended that the heads of state and government should start accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova for geopolitical reasons, but only draw up a timetable for the next steps for all other candidates.
The polling institutes YouGov and Datapraxis surveyed a total of 6153 EU citizens, including 1058 Germans, between November 7 and 19.
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- Despite the opposition of four out of ten Germans, as revealed in a survey by ECFR, the EU summit is still planned to give the go-ahead for accession negotiations with Ukraine.
- The survey also highlighted that Germany, along with Austria, Denmark, and France, has a significant portion of its population skeptical about Ukraine's EU accession, with 50% of Germans opposed to any new EU membership at present.
- The German government, despite these reservations, might still consider initiating accession talks with Ukraine, as suggested by ECFR experts, due to geopolitical reasons, although a clear timeline for other candidate countries might not be established immediately.
Source: www.ntv.de
