A poll conducted by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation revealed a wide gap between Ukrainians and EU citizens over Ukraine joining the bloc in the coming years. While 83 per cent of Ukrainians said they wanted their country to join, support among EU citizens stood at 47 per cent, with 53 per cent opposed to the move.
Support varies between Germany, Romania and Sweden
The poll also showed notable scepticism among Germans about Ukraine joining the EU quickly, despite Germany providing Kyiv with the strongest military and financial support amid Russian attacks. Support in Germany did not exceed 41 per cent among the EU's 10 largest countries.
Romania recorded the only lower rate among those countries, with 40 per cent of respondents supporting an acceleration of Ukraine's accession. Sweden, meanwhile, led the larger EU countries in support, at 69 per cent.
German support has declined since 2022
The results reflect a decline from positions recorded at the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, when 60 per cent of Germans supported Ukraine joining the European Union quickly. The foundation repeated the poll regularly, and its rounds showed support declining since then in the countries surveyed and across the EU as a whole.
The Bertelsmann Foundation concluded that Ukraine's membership remains an announced goal of the European Union and is also one of the key pillars of a future European security system. It said addressing the contradiction between this strategic goal and declining public support would require deeper dialogue between politicians and citizens.
The foundation stressed the need to clarify the goal of integrating Ukraine and communicate it to citizens more convincingly. It had commissioned its polling platform, Yubinius, to conduct the survey in June last year, with the participation of 16,795 people from all EU countries.
