According to a new opinion poll conducted by Fréttabladid daily, 45.5 percent of respondents want Iceland to join the European Union, while 54.5 percent are against applying for membership. The attitude remains unchanged between months.
In a comparable poll undertaken at the end of February, 46.1 percent of respondents were supportive of EU membership, while 53.9 percent were against it, Fréttabladid reports.
The European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
In the past few years, support for EU membership for Iceland has fluctuated considerably.
In February 2006, approximately 35 percent of respondents wanted Iceland to apply. Support increased gradually, peaking in October 2008 with almost 70 percent of respondents in favor of EU membership for Iceland.
Then support decreased gradually again, with 40 percent of respondents wanting Iceland to join the EU in January 2009. Since then, the rate of support has risen slightly to the current 45.5 percent.
Participants who plan to vote for the Independence Party are the least favorable of EU membership. Only 26.5 percent of people from that group support Iceland’s application.
Among Progressive Party supporters, 31.9 percent want Iceland to join the EU, 38.2 percent of Left-Green supporters and 80.6 percent of Social Democrat supporters, which is the only party that officially includes EU membership on its platform.
Among those participants who did not associate themselves with any party, 42.9 percent were in favor of applying for EU membership.
The opinion poll was undertaken on March 11 when 800 voters were called at random. As many as 81.1 percent replied to the question of whether Iceland should apply for EU membership or not.
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