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Asia pips Europe on US radar
Source: Agencies |
September 15, 2011, Thursday
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AMERICANS increasingly view Asia, rather than Europe, as the region where the most important US national interests lie, according to a poll released yesterday.
But most respondents in nine of 12 European Union countries surveyed said the US remained more important than Asia. Exceptions were France, Spain and Sweden.
The annual survey was conducted by the German Marshall Fund, a nonpartisan policy institution that promotes transatlantic cooperation, and the Compagnia di San Paolo, an Italian research center. The Swedish government was among its sponsors.
The findings on US attitudes toward Asia and Europe mark a transformation from a similar poll conducted by the same groups in 2004. In this year's survey just over half of Americans saw Asia as more important for US interests than Europe. In the earlier survey, a strong majority said the opposite.
The change may reflect a generational shift in the US. More than six in 10 Americans under 45 view Asia as more important than Europe, compared with fewer than half among those age 45 or more.
The survey found strong support in Europe for US President Barack Obama, but his approval ticked down slightly, and the intensity of support fell significantly. Two years ago, 29 percent of respondents in European countries expressed strong approval. This year only 17 percent did.
Europeans expressed more positive attitudes toward European Union membership than toward the euro currency. More than two-thirds of respondents considered EU membership a good thing for their national economy but only four in 10 said the euro was good for their economy.
Moreover, in all but two of the EU countries surveyed, a majority said that it would be better if member states retained authority over spending and taxes rather than having power shifted to the EU. Of the 12 EU countries included in the poll, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, the UK and Sweden are not in the eurozone.
Surprisingly, Germany, which has been grappling with its role in economic bailouts, was one of the two countries - Italy was the other - in which a majority said economic power should be shifted to the EU.
For the first time, the survey found that most Americans were pessimistic about the possibility of stabilizing Afghanistan.
The telephone survey, conducted between May 25 and June 17, polled 1,000 people in each of the US and the 12 EU countries.
But most respondents in nine of 12 European Union countries surveyed said the US remained more important than Asia. Exceptions were France, Spain and Sweden.
The annual survey was conducted by the German Marshall Fund, a nonpartisan policy institution that promotes transatlantic cooperation, and the Compagnia di San Paolo, an Italian research center. The Swedish government was among its sponsors.
The findings on US attitudes toward Asia and Europe mark a transformation from a similar poll conducted by the same groups in 2004. In this year's survey just over half of Americans saw Asia as more important for US interests than Europe. In the earlier survey, a strong majority said the opposite.
The change may reflect a generational shift in the US. More than six in 10 Americans under 45 view Asia as more important than Europe, compared with fewer than half among those age 45 or more.
The survey found strong support in Europe for US President Barack Obama, but his approval ticked down slightly, and the intensity of support fell significantly. Two years ago, 29 percent of respondents in European countries expressed strong approval. This year only 17 percent did.
Europeans expressed more positive attitudes toward European Union membership than toward the euro currency. More than two-thirds of respondents considered EU membership a good thing for their national economy but only four in 10 said the euro was good for their economy.
Moreover, in all but two of the EU countries surveyed, a majority said that it would be better if member states retained authority over spending and taxes rather than having power shifted to the EU. Of the 12 EU countries included in the poll, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, the UK and Sweden are not in the eurozone.
Surprisingly, Germany, which has been grappling with its role in economic bailouts, was one of the two countries - Italy was the other - in which a majority said economic power should be shifted to the EU.
For the first time, the survey found that most Americans were pessimistic about the possibility of stabilizing Afghanistan.
The telephone survey, conducted between May 25 and June 17, polled 1,000 people in each of the US and the 12 EU countries.
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