In a recent survey conducted across six EU member states ahead of this week’s EU Summit, Europeans are open towards Ukraine’s accession to the EU. However, skepticism looms regarding the admission of countries from the Western Balkans, Georgia, and Turkey, as reported by the British newspaper The Guardian.
Europeans are generally open to the idea of Ukraine joining the EU, despite the costs and risks, but lukewarm at best about the bloc’s prospective enlargement to also take in Georgia and countries in the western Balkans, according to a survey.
The European Commission recommended last month that formal accession talks begin with Ukraine and Moldova. The EU’s 27 heads of government are due to discuss the proposal at a Brussels summit this week – although Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has repeatedly said he opposes opening negotiations with Kyiv.
The polling, of six EU member states for the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), found considerable support for the candidacies of Ukraine and, to a lesser extent, Moldova and Montenegro, but also deep economic and security concerns.
However, there was widespread opposition to the eventual accession of Turkey in particular, as well as a markedly cool response to the prospect of Albania, Bosnia, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia joining the union.
