EuroNews – English Version
April 7, 2005
Turks clearly cooler on EU bid – newspaper
Public opinion in Turkey on the secular, mainly Muslim country’s bid
to join the European Union has dropped significantly.
In the latest survey, by Pollmark Turkey Agenda Research for the
daily Milliyet, 63.5% of respondents said they supported the effort.
This is the first time favourable opinion for Turkish EU membrship
has gone below the 70% mark.
Ten months ago, support stood at 10% higher than today.
Since then, the ‘no’ camp in Turkey has made a nearly 30% gain.
It is a far cry from last December, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan made a triumphal return home, having secured a date from the
EU’s leaders to begin negotiations on entry into the bloc, this
October.
The newspaper survey said the reasons for the decline in support
included EU insistence on curbing the military’s influence,
conditions on Cyprus, the Kurdish community and recognition of the
Armenian genocide at Turkish hands in WWI, which Ankara currently
rejects.