Europeans prefer greater independence from the US

Gütersloh - 22 noiembrie 2024 -

A clear majority of Europeans are willing to take greater responsibility for their own interests in a changing world order. This is the key finding of an eupinions survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung in the 27 member states of the European Union. The figures show a clear shift in opinion in Europe: at the end of 2017, only a quarter of citizens wanted more European engagement.

Gütersloh, November 20, 2024. The majority of European citizens believe that Europe should go its own way in the current geopolitical landscape. The Bertelsmann Stiftung's eupinions survey in all 27 EU member states and the US shows that Europeans had already internalized the political consequences of global developments for their continent before Donald Trump's re-election. Sixty-three percent believe that it is time for the European Union to go its own way, compared to only 25 percent in 2017.

"This significant shift in public opinion reaffirms that European leaders need to do more for European security. This applies above all to greater engagement in NATO, whose security guarantee is of great importance to Europeans," says Isabell Hoffmann, co-author of the study and Europe expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Here are the key results of the eupinions survey:

EU citizens want the European Union to play a more active role in world affairs.

People in both Europe and the US see NATO as a cornerstone of their security.

For Europeans, peace is particularly important, for Americans it is civil rights.

The commitment to the transatlantic partnership is also a question of age.

eupinions is a European opinion research tool developed by the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The survey for this analysis was conducted in September 2024 in all 27 EU member states and the US with a total of 29,000 participants.

For more information: www.eupinions.eu

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