The German Marshall Fund has published the results of a survey entitled “‘Transatlantic Trends 2004″ which documents the negative impact that the War in Iraq has had on US-European relations. The survey of 10 European countries shows that 76% of Europeans disapprove of US foreign policy – a 20 point increase over the past 2 years. The difference with the US on the reliance on military force to ensure peace is particularly striking: 54% of Americans see military force as the primary factor, while only 28% of Europeans see force as the key.
Surprisingly, 60% of the Americans surveyed desire a closer relationship with the EU, while a majority of Europeans would like to see the EU as an independent superpower to counterbalance the US. Still, Europeans seem unwilling to invest in military resources to achieve that objective.
The Boston Globe reports:
Daniel C. Twining, director of foreign policy at the German Marshall Fund, said in a phone interview, “That Europe and America are still divided may come as no surprise, but what is perhaps more interesting in the survey is the way the relationship is changing, that Americans want a closer partnership with a stronger Europe, and Europeans want more independence from the US.”
German readers can take heart: while the image of the US has declined in Germany, the image of Germany in the US is high. France is another story: Americans rank it below China and Turkey
