One year on from US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a solid majority in Germany no longer trusts the United States. Opinions about what role the country should play in Europe, though, remain in flux.
Polling suggests that big majorities across Europe support common policies on defense, foreign policy, and trade, inter alia. And the latest EU summit showed how a more capable EU may come about.
US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and a deteriorating relationship with Xi Jinping’s China have alerted EU citizens to the importance of economic security.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has deepened doubts about US global leadership. Now, Europeans have a multitasking job ahead of them.
Only 4 percent of Europeans, on average, consider China to be an “ally,” while over a third regard it as a “rival” or an “adversary.” Still, the temptation to see it as a “strategic hedge” is there.
In the new geopolitical situation, German public opinion is changing fast, leaving old military and fiscal taboos behind. Germans could even be convinced of EU debt issuance to finance a European defense build-up, a DGAP-Forsa poll shows.
Conventional wisdom suggests that the German public is fiscally conservative and hostile to easing the constitutional debt brake. However, a new poll suggests that a majority of Germans, including supporters of the center-right CDU/CSU, want the debt brake to be changed to allow for higher levels of investment.
The first Trump presidency caused views of the United States to deteriorate in Europe. It’s not a given that history will repeat itself, while Europeans are looking elsewhere, too.
There is overwhelming support for greater defense efforts within the EU, with citizens considering it one of their most important concerns. The EU now needs to bridge the gap between rhetoric and action.
A number of recent surveys support the view that the French and the Germans are drifting apart. Strong cross-border initiatives in the fields of education, public media, culture, and tourism remain potent counterweights.
The European Parliament elections may augur whether the rest of the West will swing in a populist direction.
The EU is becoming more of a security actor. European publics approve, at least in the abstract.
