People attend a pro-EU rally in Cologne, Germany | Sascha Steinbach/EPA Most citizens not happy with EU but still want to stay in: study Survey shows 66 percent are dissatisfied with direction of bloc.

Most EU citizens are not happy with the current direction of the European Union but would still vote to remain in the bloc, according to a study released Wednesday.

The study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, a Germany-based foundation, found that 66 percent of citizens were dissatisfied with the EU's direction while 34 percent were satisfied.

The study also provided a breakdown of statistics for some of the EU's most populous countries. Among them, Italy had the highest rate of dissatisfaction, with 83 percent of Italians declaring themselves unhappy at the direction of the EU. France had the highest satisfaction rate, at 38 percent.

Despite the high level of discontent suggested by the survey, 70 percent of EU citizens said they would choose to remain in the bloc if a referendum on membership was held in their country.

Among the countries singled out in the study, Spain had the highest rate of support for staying in the EU, at 81 percent, followed by Poland with 79 percent. Italians were the least enthusiastic but still had a majority of 56 percent in favor of staying in the EU.

In general, pro-EU sentiment has significantly increased in member countries since the U.K. voted for Brexit and Donald Trump took office as U.S. president, the study said.

The survey also revealed contrasting views among EU citizens about the state of their respective countries. Among Germans, who go to the polls in a parliamentary election in less than three weeks, 59 percent were happy with the direction of their country. Only 13 percent of respondents in Italy, where a parliamentary election is due next year, felt the same about their country.

The study was carried out in July and was based on a sample of 10,755 people from all EU member countries, the Bertelsmann Stiftung said.