Norwegians against accession to EU: poll
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The people of Norway are against the idea of their country becoming the 28th European Union member state, though the opposition is declining.
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Norwegian flags flutter at Karl Johans street in Oslo, Norway, May 31, 2017 (Reuters)
The majority of Norwegians (48.8%) do not want Oslo to join the European Union as national support for the kingdom's accession to the 27-nation bloc is at its peak in more than a decade, as per a survey conducted by Norweigian think tank Sentio showed on Tuesday.
The survey, conducted for Norwegian newspaper Nationen, found that since November 2021, the number of Norwegians opposed to the country's integration into the European Union has decreased to 48.8% from 54.2%.
According to the thinktank, the dip in opposition to EU accession was accompanied by a slight increase in support for accession to the bloc - from 34.1% to 35.5% - which is the highest level of support for Oslo becoming the last Nordic state to join the bloc in 12 years.
Those who find it difficult to answer the question of whether their country should join the European Union, on the other hand, increased from 11.8% in November to 16%.
The survey was conducted from May 24 to May 30 among 1,001 adult Norwegians, with the think tank not revealing the percentage margin of error.
Despite Norway's lack of membership in the European Union, it has been part of the European Economic Area since 1994.
The opposition to accession to the EU comes as fellow Nordic states, Finland and Sweden, are making bids to join NATO in light of regional tensions sparked by the question of NATO and EU accession.
