A study by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) shows that Europeans no longer see the US as an 'ally', and revealed a broad variety of opinions on the future of the EU.
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00:00because of the damage to the United States of making America...
00:04The transatlantic twilight.
00:06This is the expression used by the think tank ECFR,
00:10or European Council on Foreign Relations,
00:13following its survey on relations between the European Union
00:17and President Donald Trump's United States.
00:20According to the study published today
00:22and carried out in 11 member countries,
00:2550% of those questions believe
00:28that the United States is a necessary partner,
00:31compared with 21% who see Washington as an ally.
00:35These figures mark a shift in European opinion.
00:39The main lesson is that citizens are already accepting
00:45and acknowledging the fact that Europeans
00:49and European leaders need to adopt a more pragmatic approach towards America.
00:54So in that polling, people do not show too strong illusions about the US.
01:02They kind of accept that if Trump wants a transactional,
01:06then we need to be open to a transaction as well.
01:10Faced with Donald Trump's America First slogan,
01:13the report's author suggests that the Union should prepare to defend its interests
01:18and turn the page on the historic transatlantic link.
01:22So we call it a transatlantic twilight
01:28because we believe that the old transatlanticism is over
01:32and the new one is supposed to be born.
01:36It can be born based on the action of the European mainstream
01:41who could adopt a more transactional and pragmatic approach.
01:46In such a scenario,
01:48yes, the transatlantic relationship would be based less on the values
01:54than it was the case in the past.
01:59The poll highlights the divergent perceptions of the new American president in member states.
02:06The Republican has a positive image in Hungary and Bulgaria,
02:10while Denmark and Germany are much more skeptical.
02:13This is why the authors of the study call on EU leaders not to act in isolation
02:19to try to establish a privileged relationship with Donald Trump
02:23at the expense of their European partners.