The Turkish European Foundation for Education and Scientific Studies (TAVAK) recently finalized the sixth edition of its "Turkish public's perception towards the EU," revealing that 64 percent of the public no longer believes Turkey will become an EU member compared to last year's rate of 48 percent.According to TAVAK head Dr. Faruk Şen, the change in the public's attitude toward the EU is due to the recent behavior of the EU against Turkey and the Turkish people. Furthermore, 56 percent indicated that Turkey no longer needs the EU, as rising Islamophobia is the biggest obstacle to Turkey's EU accession.The survey was conducted over the course of one week in 10 provinces, including Ankara, İstanbul and İzmir, among 1,198 people. According to the results, 64 percent do not believe Turkey will become a full member of the EU, 51 percent said that Germany was the main country creating the biggest obstacle to Turkey's membership, followed by France. While 66 percent believe visa-free travel will be the major benefit of EU membership, only 14 percent believe Turkey would benefit from the EU's budget.When asked what would be an important alternative to the EU, 23 percent of participants stated the Shanghai Cooperation while 22 percent said they believe in an "independent policy."Commenting on the results, TAVAK President Şen stated that Islamophobia in the EU is becoming Turkophobia with Germany being the primary country. In this respect, Şen stated that the Turkish public are abandoning EU hopes due to the negative perception against Turkey and the Turkish people in Europe. "The main reason for these results is due to EU member states not supporting Turkey following July 15 [failed coup attempt] and their discountenance against it. Turks believe the EU no longer appeals to them, especially with the economic crises in Greece and Portugal and developments in Ireland and England."