Opinion polls released over the weekend show Turkish interest in the European Union is on the decline while people in key EU countries still do not want Turkey as a member.
People in four countries belonging to the European Union (EU) oppose Turkey's potential entry, according to a poll by Harris Interactive published in the Financial Times. 71 percent of respondents in France, 66 percent in Germany, and 55 percent in Italy believe Turkey should not be invited to join the continental group.
Opposition to Turkey's eventual accession reaches 46 percent in both Britain and Spain, and 13 percent in the United States.
In January, Romania and Bulgaria became the last two countries to join the EU. In October 2005, Croatia and Turkey began accession talks, but neither country has been confirmed as an official future member. At least 40 percent of respondents in the five EU countries surveyed oppose a further enlargement of the 27-member group.
The polls were conducted in the form of online interviews with 6,169 adults in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States between May 31 to June 12, 2007. The margin of error was 3 percent.
On Jun. 13, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema expressed Italy's support for Turkey's bid to join the EU during a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. D'Alema declared: "I am convinced that the best way to avoid that in this country an Islamism which is foreign to the tradition of modern Turkey prevails or that an anti-European, regressive nationalism takes hold, is for Europe to open up to Turkey. (...) We are here to convey a message to all political forces and most of all to the public opinion: dialogue must continue in view of a possible, if not upcoming, integration of Turkey in Europe."
France under newly elected President Nicolas Sarkozy vehemently opposes Turkish membership and says accession talks should be halted.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also opposed Turkish membership and said Turkey should be denied full membership but should be given special status as "privileged partnership."
Meanwhile, a poll by Konda released by Raymond James Securities showed that many people in Turkey are still in favor of joining the EU. 43.3 percent of respondents support the potential accession. However, this meant a decline in the number of Turks who support Turkey's EU membership. Similar polls a year ago showed more than 60 percent Turkish support of Turkish for EU membership.
In addition, 18.9 percent of respondents oppose Turkey's entry into the continental group, while 37.8 percent are undecided.
The poll was based on interviews with 3,605 Turkish adults, conducted from May 23 to May 28, 2007. The margin of error was 2 percent.
Rising nationalist feelings, EU's failure to lift the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and general belief that Turks are unwanted in Europe has had a dampening affect on Turkish enthusiasm to join the EU, analysts say.
In October 2005, the EU officially began accession talks with Turkey. Last year, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "We have some tensions in EU-Turkey relations, but we can't solve problems by dramatizing them. Instead, we have to work prudently and with full determination in order to find solutions."
On Jun. 21, Germany pledged to re-open stalled negotiations between Turkey and the EU before the country cedes its temporary EU presidency at the end of this month. Eckart Cuntz, Germany's ambassador to Turkey, declared: "The opening of three chapters in EU accession negotiation talks with Turkey still remains an objective."