Poll finds increase in Turkish support for EU membership

(ISTANBUL) - The number of Turks who favor European Union membership has increased to more than half of the population, according to the latest Eurobarometer poll presented here on Thursday.

The poll, conducted among 1,005 people in September and October, found that 54 percent believe Turkey's EU membership would be a "good thing," an increase of 10 percentage points from a previous survey conducted between March and May, Anatolia news agency reported.

Those who believe membership would be "beneficial" increased from 51 to 63 percent in the same period.

Public support for EU accession has markedly declined over the past two years amid frequent disagreement between Ankara and Brussels, which eventually led to the suspension of Turkey's accession talks in eight of 35 negotiating chapters earlier this month, over a trade row related to Cyprus.

Turks have widely come to see the country's candidacy as endless EU lecturing and demands without a guarantee of ultimate accession.

A poll by an independent Turkish think-thank, released in November, found that only 50 percent support accession, down from 75 percent two years ago.

Those who believed the EU was not treating Turkey "sincerely and fairly" totalled 81 percent, against only 2.0 percent who said it was.