Just 22 percent, or roughly one in every five people living in Finland, would support a referendum on the country’s membership of the European Union, but only 19 percent would consider leaving the bloc, a poll commissioned by the Finnish Yle broadcaster said Monday.
According to the poll results, while 72 percent are unequivocally against the referendum, 62 percent would support the idea of remaining inside the European Union if the vote were held. However, one in every ten respondents said they would abstain from casting their ballot, the poll results showed.
The idea of a referendum is opposed by most Finnish parties except for the populist Finns Party and its splinter faction, the anti-immigrant New Alternative, the Yle noted. The majority among both the parties would want the referendum to be held and would vote to leave the pan-European union.
In 1994, Finland voted to join the European Union in an advisory referendum, with 57 percent approving the initiative and 43 percent opposing it.