(ANSAmed) - ANKARA, 30 MAY - In a Turkey where the economic boom
is at its peak, support for Ankara's application for membership
in the European Union is sharply decreasing, as reported in a
survey published by the Anadolu agency.
44.3% of the Turkish still supports the EU membership, over a 63% share in 2005, when Ankara officially started negotiations with Brussels. However, negotiations are going on extremely slowly, due to reserves by some Member States with regard to the possibility of integration of a mainly Muslim country and to the crisis in Cyprus. In 7 years, only one of the 35 negotiating chapters was closed, and further 12 were opened; however, no progress has been made since 2010. Reserves by Europe, the strong economic development of the country, which is an emerging regional power with a growth rate of 8.5% and currently ranks 16th in the list of the world's economic powers, the Eurozone crisis, all probably contributed to the decrease in consensus.
Those who oppose access EU membership are still a minority which, however, rose to 27.6%. Such drop is even more evident among the youth. Supporters of membership decreased to 47.4% against 74% in 2005. Turkey, which has 75 million inhabitants, a state territory four times as large as Italy's has been a candidate country since 1999.(ANSAmed).
44.3% of the Turkish still supports the EU membership, over a 63% share in 2005, when Ankara officially started negotiations with Brussels. However, negotiations are going on extremely slowly, due to reserves by some Member States with regard to the possibility of integration of a mainly Muslim country and to the crisis in Cyprus. In 7 years, only one of the 35 negotiating chapters was closed, and further 12 were opened; however, no progress has been made since 2010. Reserves by Europe, the strong economic development of the country, which is an emerging regional power with a growth rate of 8.5% and currently ranks 16th in the list of the world's economic powers, the Eurozone crisis, all probably contributed to the decrease in consensus.
Those who oppose access EU membership are still a minority which, however, rose to 27.6%. Such drop is even more evident among the youth. Supporters of membership decreased to 47.4% against 74% in 2005. Turkey, which has 75 million inhabitants, a state territory four times as large as Italy's has been a candidate country since 1999.(ANSAmed).
