With less than a month to go to a referendum in Estonia on European Union membership, support for entry has shot up to a high of 69 percent

With less than a month to go to a referendum in Estonia on European Union membership, support for entry has shot up to a high of 69 percent, a poll showed Monday. "Support has increased sharply," Aivar Voog of the Emor polling company said in a statement as the main political parties in the ex-Soviet Baltic republic launched "Yes" campaigns for the September 14 referendum. Opposition to membership stood at 30 percent, according to the survey of 500 people conducted in the first half of August, while the main rise in support was among people under the age of 50, Voog said. Membership of the European Union previously only enjoyed such strong backing at the end of last year when Estonia concluded accession talks, and since then support has waned, reaching a low of 55 percent in June. Analysts said the jump in support could be attributed to the government's pro-EU campaign which has intensified over the past few weeks. Estonia, one of 10 mainly eastern European countries set to join the EU next May, was plunged into political disarray earlier this month after a major opposition party, the Centre Party, came out against membership.