Many European Adults Believe that the European Union Should Not Take in New Members

The European Union (EU) has continued to expand over the years, but adults in five European countries are not convinced this should continue. Two-thirds of adults in France (67%) and over half of German adults (55%) believe the EU should not continue to take in new members. Just under half (47%) of British adults as well as 40 percent of Spanish adults also feel there should not be any more new members in the EU. Italy is the only European country to feel differently – just under half of Italians (48%) say the EU should continue to take on new member countries while 41 percent say the EU should not. While most U.S. adults are not sure (49%), 46 percent say the EU should continue to take on new members.

These are some of the results of a Financial Times/Harris Poll which was conducted online by Harris Interactive^® among a total of 6,169 adults (aged 16 and over), within France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the United States, and 1,090 adults (aged 18 and over) in Italy between May 31 and June 12, 2007.

One country that has been discussed as a potential European Union new member is Turkey. When asked if Turkey should be invited to join the EU, majorities of French (71%), German (66%) and Italian (55%) adults all say no, as do 46 percent of both British and Spanish adults. British and Spanish adults are also more likely to say they are not sure (31% and 28%, respectively) than the other European countries.

Those who say they are either not sure or opposed to Turkey being invited to join the EU were asked a follow-up question in this survey. Of those who were asked this question, almost two in five Germans (38%) and just over one-third of Spanish adults (36%) say yes to Turkey joining if the country was to implement reforms desired by some EU member states. One-third (32%) of Italians and 21 percent of both British and French adults would also say yes to Turkey joining.

Combining these two groups (i.e., those who said yes to Turkey and yes to Turkey with reforms), half of Spanish (53%), Italians (53%) and German adults (51%) now say Turkey should be invited to join the EU as does a plurality (40%) of British adults. It is only the French who are still opposed as 54 percent say no to Turkey, even with the reforms, and only one-third (34%) say yes.

One reform that has been discussed for the European Union is whether there should be a permanent president. Spain and Germany are the only two countries where adults believe this should happen (54% and 48% respectively). France is a little more divided as 44 percent do not think there should be a permanent president and 38 percent believe there should be one. In Great Britain and Italy, however, majorities are against this idea. Almost six in ten Italians (59%) and 52 percent of British adults believe there should not be a permanent president of the EU.

If there was a permanent president, however, don’t look to Tony Blair to fill the role. Majorities in Germany (64%), Great Britain (60%), Spain (56%) and France (53%) as well as 46 percent of Italians all say that Tony Blair would not make a good full-time president of the European Union. While 40 percent of US adults are not sure, they are Tony Blair’s strongest supporters as two in five (40%) do say that he would make a good full-time president.

"Do you think the European Union should continue to take in new member countries?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

"Do you think that Turkey should be invited to join the EU?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

"If Turkey were to implement reforms desired by some EU member states, should it be invited to join the EU?"

Base: Adults who were not sure or did not think Turkey should be invited to join the EU

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Total for allowing Turkey into the EU (combining yes responses from Tables 2 and 3)

Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

"Do you think that the EU should have a permanent president?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

"Do you think that Tony Blair would make a good full-time president of the European Union?"

Base: All EU adults in five countries and US adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

View the complete US and Europe data tables

This FT/Harris Poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive among a total of 6,169 adults (aged 16 and over) within France (1,012), Germany (1,014), Great Britain (1,025), Spain (1,010) and the United States (1,018) and adults (aged 18 and over) in Italy (1,090) between 31^st May and 12^th June 2007. Figures for age, sex, education, region and Internet usage were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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