Bureaucratie, dominantie grote lidstaten, euro: veel Finnen ontevreden met EU-lidmaatschap (en)

One in four Finns would like their country to withdraw from the European Union, according to a poll published on Tuesday (7 March).

Of the 1,200 Finns surveyed, one third said they felt positively about the EU while 31 percent said they had negative feelings about the EU, according to news agency AFP.

On the budget, nearly 70 percent of those who answered said that Finland's contribution to the bloc's common coffers was too high compared to what the country got back.

Finns also have reservations about the euro. Some 44 percent said they were unhappy with the common currency while 39 percent said they were content with it.

The poll comes just ahead of Helsinki's time at the helm of the EU, with the country set to take over the bloc's presidency in July.

Among the reasons given by Finns for being discontent with the EU are the dominance of the largest member states.

Bureaucracy and a perceived lack of democracy within the union were also mentioned by those surveyed, reports AFP.

The survey was carried out between November (2005) and January by the EVA think tank.