Majority of Europeans in favor of Ukraine joining the EU

According to a survey, a clear majority of Europeans are in favor of Ukraine joining the EU. According to the study published in Gütersloh on Wednesday, two-thirds (66 percent) of the Europeans surveyed were in favor of it in a representative survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation in June. However, the approval in the EU countries varies: In Poland, 84 percent of respondents were in favor. In Germany and France it was significantly less at 60 percent.

According to the survey, support for Ukraine in EU countries is crumbling as the war goes on. In June, more than 80 percent of Europeans were still in favor of taking in Ukrainian refugees, it said. Compared to March, however, approval fell by 5 percentage points. In France, approval fell by 8 percentage points, in the Netherlands by 7 percentage points and in Poland by 6 percentage points over this period.

According to the Bertelsmann Foundation, support for energy independence between the EU and Russia is also tending to decrease as the extent of the cuts becomes clearer. In June, approval for this goal was lowest in Germany, at 69 percent. Support was greatest in Poland (80 percent) and Italy (76 percent).

Arms deliveries from the EU to Ukraine were approved by 60 percent of the EU citizens polled, according to the June survey. The approval in Poland was particularly high. Here, 84 percent of those surveyed spoke out in favor of it. In Germany it was 61 percent. In Italy, 58 percent spoke out against it.

A large majority of around 80 percent of the Europeans surveyed believe that Europe should play an even more important role in international affairs in the future. Every three months, around 12,000 EU citizens are surveyed using the European opinion research tool “eupinions” from the Bertelsmann Foundation. The polls for the release took place in June and March.

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