North Cyprus Inform

Less than a third of Turks think Turkey must enter the European Union

Less than a third of Turks think Turkey must enter the European Union, a poll showed on Tuesday, the latest sign of waning support for membership as Ankara faces increasing pressure from Brussels.

The survey, carried out by pollsters A&G and published in newspaper Milliyet, showed 32.2 per cent thought Turkey "must certainly enter the EU", a sharp decline on last year's 57.4 per cent and 67.5 per cent in 2004.

The poll, which shows a more dramatic decline in EU support than other recent surveys, comes as Brussels urges Turkey to step up reforms and make concessions over the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus if it is to avoid a possible freeze in membership talks later this year.