Germans Support More Independence for EU States in Defining Policy

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — More than a half of Germans answering a survey want a greater role for member states within the European Union in defining policy on various issues, supporting UK initiatives to renegotiate the state's role within the bloc, a new poll revealed Tuesday.

The United Kingdom is set to hold a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017. Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister David Cameron is renegotiating the terms of the country's membership in the bloc, including migration and commerce policy.

Some 54 percent of those German citizens questioned believe that some powers and competences should be returned to EU member state local authorities from Brussels, according to a poll released by Open Europe Berlin, in cooperation with the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany, and conducted by the Forsa pollster.

About half of Germans polled believe that the key decisions which are primarily of interest for the bloc should be taken by all member states, the survey revealed.

Over half of the polled German citizens said they were in favor of different levels of integration within the bloc, including supporting the possibility for groups of EU member states to work closer on specific issues that are particularly relevant to certain countries.

According to the Forsa poll, 69 percent of Germans agree with Cameron that member states have the right to make welfare payments dependent on the amount of EU migrants in a country.

A total of 72 percent of Germans polled support holding a membership referendum if a country considers leaving the European Union.