EU support grows in Estonia

A month ahead of the EU referendum in Estonia the government can breathe easier. According to a new opinion poll, 62% of the population would vote to joining the EU. One month ago, only 48% of Estonians would have voted 'Yes'. According to a new poll conducted by Emor and published yesterday (5 August), 67% of Estonians are planning to take part in the referendum and 38% of them have decided to vote against joining the EU. In June as much as 45% of Estonians would have said 'No' to joining the European Union. Support for EU membership has risen the most among elderly people, commented Aivar Voog from Emor. The main reason why support has risen was the joint statement at the end of June by president Arnold Rüütel, Chairwoman of the parliament Ene Ergma, and Prime Minister Juhan Parts, Mr Voog added. However, eurosceptics in the Research Centre Free Europe (UKVE) are planning to conduct their own poll. They think that the people who have not decided yet are more likely to move to the 'No' vote and that Estonia will give the strongest 'No' of all the enlargement countries.