A majority of Europeans are in favor of Ukraine joining the European Union, but public opinion in the bloc’s three biggest members is more ambivalent, according to data released Tuesday.
A survey released by the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank shows support for Ukraine’s EU bid stands at 57% across 10 key European countries but falls to 48% in Germany, 47% in France and 46% in Italy, Anadolu news agency reported.
Support is strongest in Ukraine’s neighbor, Poland, with 70% in favor, followed by 69% in Portugal and Finland, 66% in Sweden, and 58% in Spain.
The ECFR poll was conducted in 9 EU countries — Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden — and former EU member Britain, ahead of a June 23 – 24 EU summit expected to decide on Ukraine’s candidate status.
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Recognizing Ukraine as a formal candidate would open up a process that could eventually see Ukraine join the EU — a major geopolitical realignment for the former Soviet country currently facing a war with Russia.
The road to the membership for Kyiv would take at least 15 years, according to experts.
The ECFR poll was conducted online through the Datapraxis and YouGov institutes with a sample of nearly 8,200 respondents between April 28 and May 22, with a margin of error of 3 to 4%.
It was earlier reported that, The leaders of France, Germany and Italy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv Thursday and expressed support for granting Ukraine candidate status for accession to the European Union.
Why it matters: Zelensky this week urged Western countries to quickly deliver more arms as Ukraine attempts to fend off Russian forces in the country’s east.
In recent days, Ukraine’s government has criticized some European countries for dragging their feet on supplying additional military aid.
David Arakhamia, who leads Ukraine’s negotiations with Russia and is one of Zelensky’s closest advisers, said that the German government was still very reluctant to approve export licenses to arm Ukraine, per Axios’ Dave Lawler.
Driving the news: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv by train and later visited the devastated suburb of Irpin.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis also arrived in the city on Thursday for a visit on a separate train, he tweeted.
During a joint press conference after their meeting, Macron said that all four leaders were in favor of granting Ukraine “immediate” EU candidate status, Reuters reported.
The big picture: The visit comes ahead of an expected decision from the European Commission to recommend that Ukraine be granted candidate status to join the bloc, per Politico.
Macron said at a press conference that all four EU leaders attending the meeting with Zelensky also promised to back candidate status for Ukraine, AP reported.
President Biden also announced Wednesday that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with an additional $1 billion in military aid.
What they’re saying: The leaders “want to send a strong signal of support and solidarity to president [Zelensky] and the people of Ukraine in these dire times,” German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit tweeted.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Kyiv that the trip “a message of unity … to the Ukrainians.”
