(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Half of the population of Turkey would support their country’s bid to enter the European Union (EU), according to a poll by MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center. 49.7 per cent of respondents would vote "Yes" in a referendum on accession, while 34.9 per cent would vote against it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Half of the population of Turkey would support their country’s bid to enter the European Union (EU), according to a poll by MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center. 49.7 per cent of respondents would vote "Yes" in a referendum on accession, while 34.9 per cent would vote against it.
In October 2005, the EU officially began accession talks with Turkey. The country has been seeking inclusion for more than forty years, and filed a formal application to that effect in 1987. Since then, it has taken steps required only of members—including the establishment of a customs union—but was not accepted as a candidate state until 1999.
In October 2006, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn declared: "Our relationship with this country is schizophrenic. (…) There is in Turkey a feeling of deception, because it is thought that ‘Europeans don’t want us in the Union’. As for the Union, it is disappointed by the sluggish pace of reforms, which are not sufficiently credible, leading to suspicion in public opinion. It is a real vicious circle that I want to break and this will be difficult to do if accession negotiations are suspended."
One of Turkey’s obstacles for joining the EU is the situation of close to 12 million Kurds living in the country, a minority with limited rights. Turkey has waged a 25-year conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by the EU.
Last year, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the government will extend the rights of the Kurdish minority.
Earlier this month, Istanbul launched a series of events celebrating its status as one of the three chosen European Capitals of Culture in 2010, along with Essen in Germany and the Hungarian city of Pécs. Erdogan praised the Turkish city, describing it as "a little of Jerusalem, a little of Paris, of Madrid, Baghdad, Damascus—but most of all Istanbul."
Polling Data
If a referendum on Turkey joining the European Union (EU) took place today, how would you vote?
|
Yes
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49.7%
|
|
No
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34.9%
|
|
Other
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15.4%
|
Source: MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center
Methodology: Interviews with 1,614 Turkish adults, conducted from Jan. 3 to Jan. 8, 2010. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.
