The Polls—Trends

Abstract

Since the last review of public opinion on European defense policy and NATO concluded that Europeans wanted both European defense integration and a continuing commitment to NATO, the EU has almost doubled in size and new initiatives have been launched to develop a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). We reexamine these issues and trace public opinion trends in all 28 EU member states from 2000 to 2019. With little variation across countries, general support for CSDP and NATO remains substantial. While Europeans, especially in continental Western Europe, believe that the EU should take a more independent approach from the United States in security and diplomatic affairs, large segments of the publics show no clear opinion on whether European defense should mean a transfer of decision-making power from the state to the EU level and the end of NATO. Cross-country differences are more pronounced when it comes to the creation of an EU army and its deployment.

International threats and support for European security and defence integration: Evidence from 25 countries

“…In Western Europe, the countries that were neutral at the time (Ireland, Austria, Finland and Sweden), Denmark (not yet part of the CSDP) and Great Britain show on average slightly lower support for CSDP, yet still view this policy positively on average. The public appears open to further integration in this domain, which is consistent with prior findings (e.g., Mader et al., 2020).…”

“…Additionally, future research could consider whether support for integration is maintained in the face of trade‐offs, whether in monetary or sovereignty terms. While support for integrating policies is routinely high (Eichenberg, 2003; Mader et al., 2020), such support may wilt as people learn about the policy area and trade‐offs (Carrubba & Singh, 2004; Peters, 2014).…”

A unified autonomous Europe? Public opinion of the EU's foreign and security policy

“…Similarly, we also demonstrate that the majority of Europeans want the EU to be less dependent on the US for military protection and are in favour of foreign policy decisions, such as decisions about war and peace, being taken at the EU level, rather than at the level of the member state. Based on these results, we can conclude that we do see a ‘Tillian’ moment for European polity building, as most Europeans, who used to be unclear as to whether European defence should include a shift of state-level decision-making authority to the EU level and whether to create an European army (Mader et al, 2020 ), now genuinely want a more unified autonomous EU in the foreign and security policy arena.…”

From Federica Mogherini to Josep Borrell: The Evolving Nature of Cultural Relations and Cultural Diplomacy in Eu External Relations

“…Major elements of this new strategy include trade policy and economic sovereignty, security and strategic autonomy, preeminence in digital technologies, and at the same time, the promotion of liberal values and human rights. Strategic autonomy is considered important to maintain peace and security, and this notion is also supported by the European public opinion, who believe that the EU should be more independent from the US in this respect (Mader et al 2020). The importance traditionally attributed to human rights influences external actions concerning international cooperation, but also trade and developmental policies (Gstöhl 2020).…”