A poll regarding prospects of Turkish membership in the European Union was conducted by Turkish-German Foundation for education and research in late January.The poll was conducted among 1,5 thousand respondents aged 18-60, in six Turkish cities, that are most actively involved in trade with EU countries.

In 2005, when Turkey first began the accession of negotiations with the EU as a full European member, almost two-thirds of residents (74%) were for the integration. To date, this figure dropped to 34.8%.

According to the survey, 60.1% of respondents gave a negative answer to the question of whether they believe in the fact that Turkey will be admitted into the EU. Respondents believe that main obstacles to Turkey’s European integration are France (30.2%) and Germany (23,5%). Most Turks now believe that their country does not need to join the EU. Only 24,9% of respondents believe in the opposite.

At the same time 41,2% of respondents believe that the next best alternative to the EU for Turkey is to develop regional cooperation with neighboring countries, including Russia. As an alternative to the European Union, 33,1% of respondents refer to the Economic Cooperation Organization, 15,5% - BRIC (unites Brazil, Russia, India and China), 10,2% - the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), shows the study.

The results will be sent to the president and prime minister of Turkey, as well as to the leaders of political parties, said the head of Faruk Şen fund in an interview with Aksam newspaper,  RIA Novosti writes.