More Than A Third of EU Citizens Against EU EnlargementMore than a third of the European Union (EU) citizens are against the planned enlargement of the 15-nation bloc toward the east and the south in the coming decade, a survey said on Thursday, February 8.The survey, conducted by the European Commission among 16,067 people in the 15 EU member states, found that 35 percent of the respondents were against the enlargement to include new countries, while 44 percent of those queried were in favor. The EU member states where public opinion was most favorable to the enlargement were Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Citizens in Austria, Britain, France and Germany took the least favorable view of enlargement. Of the four EU countries where the concept of enlargement was not welcome, Austria topped the scale with 50 percent against and 32 percent for, followed by France with a 50-35 percent ratio, Germany with 43 percent against and 36 percent for and Britain with 36 percent against and 31 percent in favor. Greece was the only EU country where more than two thirds of the respondents were in favor of the enlargement process. The EU is negotiating with 12 countries from eastern and southern Europe on accession into the union that was formed almost half a century ago as an economic entity. The 12 countries are Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia and Slovakia. Turkey is also applying for EU membership but formal accession talks have not started yet. The first batch of applicant countries are now expected to join the EU after 2004 when the organization is expected to have completed the reform on its decision-making mechanism. |
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