Survey finds pro-Turkey sentiments stronger in the US than in Europe

US leaders and their public are more likely to have a favorable view of Turkey than Europeans, with 71 percent of US leaders supporting Turkey joining the EU, according to a new survey. A bare majority of European Union leaders also see this as positive, at 51 percent, but the European public is considerably less enthusiastic, with only 22 percent seeing Turkey's membership as positive. Fully 71 percent of US leaders and 51 percent of EU leaders think Turkey joining the EU would be a "good" thing, according to the first Transatlantic Trends: Leaders survey of top officials in the EU and the United States. The survey found that EU member states' political leaders and their electorates are the least favorable to both Turkey in general and Turkey's membership in the EU, while top EU officials are by far the most supportive. Among EU officials of the Council, Commission, and the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU member states (COREPER), support for Turkey's EU membership totals 64 percent, while among members of the European Parliament, considered the voice of the European public, support stands at 48 percent. The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International in the United States and TNS Opinion in Europe. Findings are based on a total of 519 interviews of transatlantic opinion leaders, 286 in Washington, DC, and 233 in Brussels. The survey showed that the European public is less enthusiastic about the idea of Turkey joining the EU, with only 22 percent thinking it would be a good thing. Of the US public, however, 40 percent thought it would be a good thing, and close to 38 percent of the Turks themselves thought the same (down from 73 percent in 2004).