A new German survey shows that up to 63% of people in the 27 European Union (EU) member states questioned believe the bloc is too dependent on the US and want the EU to “go its own way”.
The German-based Bertelsmann Stiftung polled both Americans and citizens of the 27 EU member states. Despite some overlapping concerns, the results suggest the EU has become more independent since Donald Trump was re-elected as US president.
The poll found that 63% of EU citizens asked wanted the bloc to go its own way, compared with just 25% in 2017.
Although 51% of EU residents polled believe the US is their most valuable ally, they are largely older. Only 38% of those aged 18-35 favour Washington, while that figure rises to 63% among those aged 55 and over.
Meanwhile, 25% of Americans polled said the EU was their most valuable ally, while 27% chose the UK.
EU citizens “will understand that the old America is not coming back,” wrote Isabell Hoffmann and Catherine De Vries, who analyzed the polling data for Bertelsmann. “They cannot hope for the best. They need to prepare for the worst: a hyper-transactional, sometimes antagonistic and selfish America.”
While US and EU citizens still see each other as their most valuable allies and value NATO, “eight years of excessive US polarization at home and mixed messaging abroad have taken their toll,” according to Hoffmann and De Vries.
The EU is also divided by country, with just 43% of Belgians naming the US as their top ally compared to 65% of Poles. 13% of Italians chose China as their most important partner.
EU and American citizens both chose secure borders as their top concern, at 25% and 35% respectively. Slightly more EU citizens (64%) believe NATO protects them from that threat, compared to 59% in the US.
While 73% of EU citizens want the bloc to play a more active role in world affairs, only 56% of Americans want the same for their country.
Bertelsmann polled more than 26,000 people across the 27 EU member states and a representative sample of 2,500 Americans. The authors set the margin of error at 0.8% in the EU and 3% in the US, with a 95% confidence level.
