75 pct of Turkish citizens believe Turkey is drifting away from EU

ISTANBUL

Some 75 percent of Turkish citizens believe Turkey is drifting away from the European Union, while 44 percent of them believe freezing membership talks is a positive development. 

According to a survey conducted by ANDY-AR focusing on Turkey-EU relations, 75.3 percent of the participants believe Turkey is moving away from the EU, whereas 19.9 percent of them believe Turkey is not. 

Some 88 percent of the respondents who are voters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) say that Turkey is drifting away from the EU. The number is 79.6 percent for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voters, 78.7 for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) voters, and 70.3 for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) voters. 

Some 77.8 percent of the respondents in the 25-34 age group and 76.3 percent of the above-55 age group said that Turkey is moving away from the bloc.

The suspension of the EU-Turkey negotiations is a negative development according 47.4 percent of the survey participants, while 44.3 percent welcome it. 

Around 58.6 percent of the AKP voters and 54.2 percent of the MHP voters are positive about the halting of membership talks. However, the trend is different among CHP and HDP voters, with 75.5 percent of the former and 81.9 percent of the latter think that halting negotiations is a negative development.