Study: Only 41% of Germans back Ukraine joining the EU in the coming years
Support in Germany has fallen 20 points since March 2022, the Bertelsmann Foundation said. In Ukraine, 83% want to join the EU, while EU-wide backing stands at just 47%.
Symbolic image · Photo: Brayden A. / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
German support for Ukraine joining the European Union in the coming years has dropped sharply, according to a Bertelsmann Foundation study released on Tuesday. Only 41% of Germans now favour accession in the next few years, down from 61% in March 2022. Among the ten EU countries analysed individually, only Romania, at 40%, scored lower.
Across the EU, 47% support early accession and 53% oppose it. In Poland, backing fell from 87% to 43%, while majorities remain in favour in Sweden and Spain. In Ukraine itself, 83% want to join the bloc. Some 36% of Germans cited the financial burden as a particular obstacle, compared with an EU average of 28%.
The survey polled nearly 16,800 people in all 27 EU member states and just over 2,100 in Ukraine in June. According to the Berliner Zeitung, the results do not indicate rejection in principle or for good, as the question referred to membership in the coming years. A majority of 56% could imagine a gradual, partial integration of Ukraine. The foundation's Eastern Europe expert Miriam Kosmehl said maintaining public support was crucial.