00:00As the EU strategic enlargement towards the East is gathering more momentum,
00:12a new survey shows that more than half of European Union citizens
00:16support the introduction of new member states to the bloc.
00:20More specifically, 56% of citizens approve of European Union enlargement.
00:26According to a EU-wide Eurobarometer study,
00:30the member states most in favour of enlargement are Sweden, Denmark and Lithuania.
00:36Young Europeans aged 15 to 24 were particularly in favour.
00:41The support comes to a large extent from young people and educated people.
00:48And that is not very surprising.
00:50You know, it's the usual suspects who would be understanding and supportive of such endeavours.
00:58So now the question is, how do we get to convince and get on board also the young, non-educated electorates?
01:0937% of those surveyed believe that enlargement will strengthen the EU's influence in the world.
01:1637% also think that it will strengthen the European economy,
01:21while 30% believe that enlargement will lead to greater solidarity in the Union.
01:26But aside from overall support for enlargement, political commitment is needed to move the process forward.
01:33This will be the central theme of Euronews EU enlargement summit on November the 4th in Brussels,
01:39where the heads of state and government of candidate countries will debate accession issues with EU leaders.
01:45It would be nice if politicians now would ride on that wave of public support in order to be more ambitious
01:52and to actually act with regards to welcoming new members in the European Union
02:00and doing the necessary preparatory work to be able to accommodate more countries around the decision-making table.
02:09While a majority of people support EU enlargement, many also voice concerns.
02:1540% of citizens say it could present the risk of uncontrolled immigration.
02:2039% point to a potential increase in corruption and crime.
02:24And 37% worry about the cost to taxpayers.
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