Is public opinion in the EU in favour of more enlargement?
Polls suggest attitudes towards enlargement are cooling. Forty-six per cent of people questioned in an autumn 2006 Eurobarometer poll were in favour of further enlargement (down from 49% a year months earlier), and 42% were against (up from 39% six months earlier). The rest did not know. However, the picture varies from country to country. People in countries which joined the EU in 2004 seem to be broadly in favour of further enlargement, as are the people of Greece, Sweden and Spain. But in five other member states – Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the UK – only 30-36% support the idea. How much does enlargement cost? In 2005, the 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004 received about 4bn euros (2.7bn) more from the EU than they paid into the budget. This comes to about 4% of the EU budget, which is itself about 1% of the EU’s gross national income. In 2006, Bulgaria and Romania are getting about 1.5bn euros in pre-accession aid. Of the older EU members, Spain, Greece, Portu
