A public survey for the European Union found that Turks increasingly support the country's EU accession process. The survey, conducted by the polling company Metropoll with the support of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly and the Economic Development Foundation, shows that support for EU membership has reached 66%. Foundation chairman Ayhan Zeytinoglu says this is five points higher than a similar survey conducted in 2019, Anadolu Agency reported.
Zeytinoglu specified that the survey was conducted with 2,102 respondents in 23 countries, among the population over 18 years of age. "Turkey's relationship with the EU is important and Turkey has always been part of Europe, as evidenced by its membership in Eurocentric bodies, from NATO to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Despite the problems on the way to membership, support for joining the EU continues," he said.
Zeytinoglu emphasized that 45% of respondents believe in Turkey's future membership. The reasons for their support varied, with most respondents citing "economic reasons" for their support, while 47% of people indicated that they supported membership to advance democracy and human rights. "44% of supporters of EU membership expect to be granted permission to travel and reside in the EU area," he added.
Most of those interviewed said that the EU is biased towards Turkey and this is blocking the path to membership, while 41 percent said that the problem lies in Turkey's level of economic development. More than half of the interviewees believe that Turkey has sufficient human resources and administrative capacity for membership in the bloc.
According to Ankara, the continued tolerance of some EU countries for terrorist groups threatening Turkey has led to a deterioration in ties. Divergent views on other issues have further eroded trust between the two countries, although Turkey and the EU remain major trading partners. Erdogan again suggested resuming ties when he attended the NATO summit in Vilnius last summer. The EU welcomed Erdogan's proposal, but a scathing European Parliament report criticizing Turkey angered Ankara and the president said his country may reconsider its bid to join.
Turkey expects concrete results from the ongoing process, especially for the updating of the customs union and the liberalization of the visa regime. The country is hoping for a new visionary approach to ties with an emphasis on Turkey's full membership in the bloc. The EU, for its part, has expressed willingness to strengthen ties, while several members already have warm relations with Turkey. The EU is seeking to iron out differences on several issues and progress on the political aspects of the "Copenhagen criteria" that Turkey must meet for membership.
The accession talks have nine different chapters, some of which complement each other, including high-level dialogue meetings, customs union updates, visa liberalization, counter-terrorism efforts, security and defence, financial cooperation and communications. /BGNES
