(Adnkronos) – The negative peak in transatlantic relations is confirmed in a YouGov poll according to which Europeans’ opinion of the United States and the relationship between the two blocs is at its lowest level since these surveys began ten years ago. The Greenland crisis accelerated this trend.
Large majorities of Europeans, from 84 percent in Denmark to 62 percent recorded in France (62 percent), with Germany, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain in between, now have an unfavorable opinion of the United States. Last November, this figure varied, from country to country, from 49 to 70 percent. An increasing number of Europeans no longer consider the United States a friendly country. And fewer and fewer, in all six countries where the research was conducted, consider it an ally.
Europeans, the survey highlights, are increasingly intent on protecting their autonomy (41-55 percent of respondents ask for it) and their values, which they prefer over maintaining relations with the United States and which they do not want to give up to appease Donald Trump.
Europeans agree with Trump and admit to having been too dependent on the US for their defense (the figure varies by country between 59 and 74 percent), to having allowed too many immigrants into their countries (between 52 and 63 percent), and to being too hesitant on the world stage (between 45 and 62 percent).
But they totally disagree with the idea of the US Administration that European governments excessively limit freedom of expression (only between 1 and 31 percent of respondents, depending on the country, think so) and with the trade imbalance in favor of their side of the Atlantic (between 10 and 17 percent).
Denmark, of which Greenland is a territory, is the country where the divisive trend is most pronounced: in July 2023, 80 percent of Danes spoke of the United States as a friendly country or ally, now fewer than 26 percent do. In Great Britain, Denmark, France, and Germany, but not in Spain and Italy, respondents call for an increase in national defense spending to be able to detach themselves from the US. If transatlantic relations were to break down, most respondents in all countries, except Italy, support an increase in defense spending. Between 39 percent (in Germany) and 57 percent (in Denmark) of Europeans are convinced that once Trump leaves the White House, American foreign policy will normalize.
