Support for joining the European Union remains high in many of the EU’s enlargement partner countries, according to new perception surveys published by the European Commission.
Support varies widely across the Western Balkans, the Eastern Neighbourhood and Turkey, but respondents commonly associated closer ties with the EU with greater security, economic opportunity and better prospects for younger generations, the Commission said on Friday.
Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos stated that citizens in the surveyed partners linked closer relations with the EU to “stronger peace and security, wider economic opportunities, and better prospects for the next generation.”
In the Western Balkans, support was strongest in Albania at 92% and Kosovo at 83%, the Commission said. More than 60% backed joining the EU in Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while support in Serbia stood at 31%.
Western Balkans and Eastern Neighbourhood results
Expectations about the timing of accession increased in Montenegro, where 62% said they believe the country will join the EU in the next five years, compared with 39% in 2025, the Commission said.
In the Eastern Neighbourhood — a term used by the EU for several neighbouring countries to its east — support for EU accession was 71% in Georgia, 65% in Ukraine and 58% in Moldova.
In Turkey, 46% of respondents said they support EU membership, it added.
The surveys were carried out through face-to-face interviews between February and April 2026, with samples of about 1,000 people in each partner country and 2,400 in Turkey.
