AFP
The number of people in the Baltic state of Estonia backing European Union membership ahead of a September 14 referendum is rising, a new poll showed on Tuesday, with some 62 percent of voters who intend to turn out planning to say Yes.
Out of the 67 per cent of the electorate who intended to turn out, 62 percent plan to say Yes and 38 percent No, Aivar Voog of the Emor polling company said in a statement.
“There has been a sharp increase in the number of those who intend to take part in the referendum and say Yes,” Voog said, comparing the result of the July poll to a similar survey conducted in June.
Estonia and Latvia, two Baltic former Soviet republics, are the last of 10 mainly ex-communist countries on course to join the EU next year to hold referendums, on September 14 and 20 respectively.
Polls have shown that both countries traditionally have higher numbers of eurosceptics than other future EU members.
In June, support for EU membership in Estonia stood at just 55 percent of those who planned to vote, with opposition standing at 45 percent.
Emor conducted the poll in July questioning 1,000 people who were eligible to vote.
However Prime Minister Juhan Parts warned against complacency, telling a news conference that although supporters were in the majority, the poll figures “give no reason to be satisfied”.
“We will calmly continue the debate on the EU,” he said, saying he was in particular concerned about young people’s lack of enthusiasm for membership.
“There is reason to be concerned about the neutrality or indifference of the young people towards the EU,” he said.
Seven other countries have already approved membership in a referendum, while the Mediterranean island of Cyprus did not hold a poll.
The latest poll in Latvia last week showed that the number of people backing the EU there decreased in July.
