The power exerted by the US in the world is viewed increasingly negatively in Europe, according to a study of transatlantic relations published by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paolo of Italy.
The survey showed that 58 percent of Europeans who live in Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey, desire a more independent approach for Europe on international security and diplomatic issues.
The 2004 survey also showed that 76 percent of Europeans express disapproval of current US foreign policy, an increase of 20 percentage points over the past two years.
"If this trend continues, we may be looking at a redefinition of the fundamentals of the transatlantic relationship from a first choice partnership to an optional alliance when mutually convenient," said Craig Kennedy, president of the German Marshall Fund.
"However, a strong transatlantic foundation, based on common values and social and economic linkages, continues to drive the relationship," he added.
The French and Spaniards show the most hostility toward the United States and its leadership role in the world, with 73 and 76 percent of them respectively saying they are viewing America negatively or very negatively.
By contrast, the Dutch and the British are the most enthusiastic, with 59 and 54 percent of them saying respectively that they have a favorable or very favorable view of the United States.
But despite the stress on the relationship, both Europeans and Americans believe they share enough common values to cooperate with each other on international problems, according to the survey.
"And contrary to expectations in the aftermath of the war in Iraq, Europeans' warmth of feeling toward the US has not diminished over last year," the survey said.
Fifty-two percent of Europeans insist they have a favorable opinion of the United States. In Britain, that number reaches 62 percent, in Italy 61 percent, while in Spain and Turkey only 42 percent and 28 percent respectively agree with that point of view.
The survey also showed Americans and Europeans agree on the big threats facing their societies, such as terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but they sharply differ on how to respond.
Seventy-six percent of Europeans say they disapprove of US President George W. Bush's international policies, while 51 percent of Americans say they approve.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
CRITICISM: ‘One has to choose the lesser of two evils,’ Pope Francis said, as he criticized Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and Harris’ pro-choice position Pope Francis on Friday accused both former US president Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris of being “against life” as he returned to Rome from a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. The 87-year-old pontiff’s comments on the US presidential hopefuls came as he defied health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. It was Francis’ longest trip in duration and distance since becoming head of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics more than 11 years ago. Despite the marathon visit, he held a long and spirited
China would train thousands of foreign law enforcement officers to see the world order “develop in a more fair, reasonable and efficient direction,” its minister for public security has said. “We will [also] send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (王小洪) told an annual global security forum. Wang made the announcement in the eastern city of Lianyungang on Monday in front of law enforcement representatives from 122 countries, regions and international organizations such as Interpol. The forum is part of ongoing