Media: half of Europeans consider Trump an enemy of Europe, and the risk of war with Russia - high

Almost half of Europeans consider US President Donald Trump an "enemy of Europe," significantly more assess the risk of war with Russia as high, and over two-thirds believe their country would not be able to defend itself in such a war, according to a poll, UNN reports with reference to The Guardian.

Details

The poll, conducted in nine countries for the Paris-based platform for debate on European affairs Le Grand Continent, also showed that almost three-quarters of respondents would like their country to remain in the EU, and almost as many said that leaving the union had harmed the UK.

Jean-Yves Dormagen, professor of political science and founder of the Cluster17 polling agency, said: "Europe is not only facing increasing risks, but is also undergoing a transformation of its historical, geopolitical and political environment. The overall picture [of the poll] depicts a Europe that is concerned, deeply aware of its vulnerability, and trying to project itself positively into the future."

The poll showed that an average of 48% of people in the nine countries consider Trump an outright enemy – ranging from highs of 62% in Belgium and 57% in France to lows of 37% in Croatia and 19% in Poland.

"Across the continent, Trumpism is clearly considered a hostile force," Dormagen said, adding that this perception is intensifying, with fewer people than in December 2024 describing Trump as "neither friend nor foe," and more as unequivocally hostile.

However, Europeans still consider relations with the US strategically important: when asked what position the EU should take towards the US government, the most popular option (48%) was compromise.

Addendum

The poll in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, and the Netherlands also showed that a relative majority (51%) considered the risk of open war with Russia in the coming years to be high, and 18% considered it very high.

Dormagen said that such a result "would have been unthinkable a few years ago and signals a shift in European opinion towards a new geopolitical regime in which the possibility of direct conflict on the continent is now widely recognized."

The publication notes that views differed greatly depending on proximity to Russia: 77% of respondents in Poland considered the risk of war high, compared to 54% in France, 51% in Germany, 39% in Portugal, and 34% in Italy.

Confidence in national military capabilities was low everywhere, the poll showed: 69% of respondents in the nine countries said they believed their country was "not very" or "not at all" capable of defending itself against Russian aggression.

French respondents were the most confident, but their opinion remained a minority – 44%. In Poland, which borders Russia, 58% were not confident. Dormagen said: "We are entering an era of danger with a constant sense of national weakness."

The poll showed that feelings of vulnerability were widespread, with only 12% of respondents saying they felt little threat from a range of sources of danger, from technological and military to energy and food.

While there were significant national differences, the most frequently mentioned threat was technological and digital security (28%), followed by military security (25%). There was strong demand for European assistance, with 69% of people saying the EU should play a protective role.

A clear majority of respondents in the nine countries supported EU membership: 74% said they wanted their country to remain in the bloc, with this sentiment highest in Portugal (90%) and Spain (89%), and lowest in Poland (68%) and France (61%).

Five years after Brexit, the UK's decision to leave the EU is largely seen as a failure: 63% believe it had a negative impact on Britain, and only 19% believe it was positive, including 5% who considered it very positive.