Research on Turkey’s perception of Europe: 58.2% will vote “Yes” in case of a possible EU membership referendum, 95.4% of the public supports the return to the Eurovision Song Contest

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  1. Global Academy General Coordinator and Kadir Has University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. The results of the Survey of Perception of Europe and the European Union in Turkey, conducted under the direction of Mustafa Aydın, have been announced. Here are the results of the research.

    The field studies of the “Research on Perception of Europe and European Union in Turkey”, prepared in partnership with the Global Academy and Jean Monnet Chair on Hybrid Threats in the EU and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Turkey Representation, are today Global Academy Coordinator and Kadir Has University International Relations Lecturer Prof. . Dr. It was shared with the public at the meeting held at TOBB Plaza, hosted by the Economic Development Foundation, with the participation of Mustafa Aydın. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Faruk Kaymakçı also attended the meeting.

    Stating that they organized such a research to reveal the perspective of the public in Turkey towards Europe and the European Union (EU), Prof. Dr. Mustafa Aydın said, “We want to continue this research and create a data set in the coming years.” Aydın noted that when the press, social media and politicians’ statements are looked at, there is a negative atmosphere in Turkey, but there is a positive point of view in their research.

    For the aforementioned research, a thousand people aged 18 and over were interviewed in 26 provinces between August 18 and September 27, 2022. According to the results of the research, the rate of people who hear about the EU in general is 86.2 percent. Only 4.9 percent of the public is knowledgeable about EU institutions and policies.

    Internet news portals are the main source of news for the people of Turkey on European and EU issues, with a rate of 57.9 percent. When the EU is mentioned to the public, the first three elements that come to mind are economic power, developed countries and the Euro.

    The first thing that comes to mind is “equality”

    When Europe is mentioned, 37.6 percent of the respondents think of freedom, and 35.7% of them think of equality. When it comes to European culture, the first thing that comes to mind for 10.7 percent of people is equality. Economic comfort and human rights follow with 8.9 and 8.3 percent. Similarly, when European values ​​are mentioned, 41.8 percent of the respondents answer equality, while 41.1 percent say human rights.

    Has Turkey moved away from European values?

    While 35.2 percent of the participants think that Turkey has not moved away from European values, the rate of those who say it has moved away is 32.4 percent. Emphasizing that the public is somewhat divided on this issue, Aydın also underlines that the participants do not have clear information.

    Research results show that only 1.2 percent of the society has a negative opinion about Europe. The rate of those who think that Turkey is a European country is 40.6 percent.

    30 percent of the participants define Turkey as a European country. 47 percent of these people say that Turkey is a part of Europe geographically, 27.4 percent historically and 18.7 percent politically.

    The rate of those who think that Europeans are jealous of Turkey is 5%.

    The rate of those who do not go to any European country is 92.6%

    92.6% of the participants say that they have never been to any European country. Those who went to European countries replied that their views on the region were even more positive after visiting Europe.

    54.9 percent of the respondents think that Germany is the most important partner of Turkey. After Germany, the United States (USA) and Azerbaijan are on the list. The participants were asked, “Which country should have a say in the solution of the world problem?” When asked, the first three places are USA, EU and Germany.

    Turkey’s EU membership

    86% of the respondents say they have heard of the EU, and when the EU is mentioned, the first concept that comes to mind is economic power. 75.9% of the respondents stated that they support Turkey’s EU membership. This weekend, “If a referendum were held for Turkey’s EU membership, what would you answer?” The rate of those who would vote “yes” to the question is 58.2 percent.

    The participants said that they support the EU membership for the development of human rights, higher living standards and a more democratic country in Turkey. It was determined that those who stated that they did not support Turkey’s EU membership did not support membership on the grounds that the EU is a Christian club, Turkey would not be accepted anyway, and membership could harm Turkish culture and identity.

    On the other hand, 54.2% of the respondents answered that the biggest obstacle to Turkey’s EU membership is Turkey’s level of economic development. This was followed by Turkey’s human rights and democracy level with 42.7 percent and religious and cultural differences with 30.9 percent.

    The rate of those who think that the EU is not an alternative is 80 percent.

    Turkey should participate in Eurovision

    95.4 percent of the respondents think that Turkey should rejoin Eurovision. The biggest reason for those who do not want to participate is that Eurovision is biased.

  2. Turks perception of Europe has always been positive. Good thing they don’t know what Europeans truly think of Turks.

  7. The EU needs more stringent requirements for new member admissions as is evidenced by Poland and Hungary.

  8. We don’t really need another Hungary or Poland at the moment. We should first make sure we have some way of pausing a membership or removing a country from the union when it crosses certain red lines

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