52% of German public say EU is better off with UK as a member, but a plurality (37%) of French think Europe is better off without Britain
Following David Cameron’s speech pledging to renegotiate and hold a referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union, a new YouGov poll reveals a majority of the German public want Britain to stay in the EU. However, the poll also found that there are more people in France who think the EU would be better off without Britain, than there are those who believe it is better off with the UK as a member.
According to YouGov’s latest EuroTrack survey, which tracks public opinion in several Northern European countries, 52% of Germans say the EU is better off with Britain as a member, while 25% think it would be better if Britain left the EU, and 23% are undecided.
Meanwhile, only 26% of people in France think the EU is better off with Britain as a member, compared with 37% who say the European Union would be better if Britain left. An equal proportion of people in France (37%) are unsure.
Britain 'uncertain' EU member
Commenting on the EuroTrack poll, YouGov Director of Political and Social Research Joe Twyman said: “The attitude of the French people towards Britain as an EU member may come as a surprise to some people in this country, particularly considering the recent assistance given by British troops to French forces in Mali and West Africa. It should be noted, however, that a large percentage of people in both Germany and France are undecided about whether the EU would be better off with or without Britain as a member, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the nature of Britain’s EU membership. David Cameron is unlikely to have helped alleviate such uncertainty by pledging a referendum as far off as 2017.”
For more information contact YouGov PR Executive Harris MacLeod
See the full poll results here
