DECLINING SUPPORT FOR KYIV'S RAPID EU ENTRY

BRUSSELS, OCTOBER 13 /SRNA/ - Support for Ukraine joining the European Union on an accelerated timetable in the coming years is declining across the bloc, according to a survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation.

The survey found that 47 per cent of EU citizens support Ukraine's rapid accession to the bloc, while a majority, or 53 per cent, are opposed.

Germany, which provides more military and financial aid to Ukraine than any other European country, is the most skeptical among the EU's 10 largest member states.

German news agency DPA reported that only 41 per cent of Germans support Ukraine's rapid accession to the bloc, with support falling below 40 per cent only in Romania.

Sweden recorded the highest level of support among the larger EU member states, at 69 per cent.

At the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, around 60 per cent of Germans supported fast-track accession for Kyiv.

The foundation conducts regular surveys, and support has been declining both in individual member states and across the EU as a whole.

The foundation surveyed 16,795 people across all EU member states in June using the Eupinions research tool.