Economic Development Foundation shared the results of the "Public EU Support and European Perception Survey 2023", prepared by the Metropoll research company with the support of TİM. This survey, which reveals public perception of the EU and the level of support for EU membership, was conducted in September 2023 via face-to-face interviews with a total of 2102 respondents representing the population aged 18 and over in 23 cities across Türkiye, including İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Konya, Kocaeli, Manisa, Eskişehir, Bursa, Trabzon, Antalya, Mersin, Ağrı, Aydın, Çanakkale, Erzurum, Kırıkkale, Mardin, Samsun, Tekirdağ, Van, Kastamonu, Kayseri and Zonguldak.

Public Support for EU Membership is 66%

In his speech, IKV Chairperson Ayhan Zeytinoğlu drew attention to the importance of relations with the EU for Türkiye and said that Türkiye is a part of Europe and that its goal of EU membership continues, as well as its membership in institutions such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD and OSCE.

Chairperson Zeytinoğlu summarized the results of the public opinion survey as follows:

"Despite all the problems we have experienced in the EU process, we observe that public support for the EU continues. In this context, the public opinion survey, which we commissioned Metropoll Research Company with the support of TIM this year, was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 2102 people in 23 cities across the country. The support rate for Türkiye's EU membership is 66%. Compared to our survey conducted in 2019, we see an increase of 5 points here. While 45% of the survey participants think that Türkiye may become an EU member in the future, the reason for supporting EU membership for 69.1% is economic, and 47% support EU membership for progress in democracy and human rights. 44% expects to get travel and residence rights in the EU.

When it comes to the obstacles to Türkiye's EU membership, 44% of the participants think that this is due to prejudices. While 41% find the problem in Türkiye's economic development level and economic situation, 34% see its performance in democracy and human rights as responsible. While 56% of the survey participants think that Türkiye has the necessary human resources and administrative capacity to become an EU member, 45% stated that the Customs Union is beneficial for the EU and Türkiye. 48% think that the modernization of the Customs Union would be beneficial for the EU and Türkiye. In the research, the rate of those who know about the European Green Deal is 36% and 61% of them think that Türkiye should adapt to the European Green Deal, while 65% believe that it will be beneficial for Türkiye. There is a need for more public information on green transformation and Green Deal, which are among the EU's priority targets.

The continued support of our people for EU membership and the updating of the Customs Union is promising. In the centenary of our Republic, we observe that our citizens' orientation towards Europe continues and the search for prosperity, democracy and modern living standards remains important".