Two-thirds of Europeans think their countries are under threat: Survey

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Some 68% of Europeans believe their countries are under threat, while 42% say their personal security is at risk, according to a survey released Friday.

The Flash Eurobarometer 574 survey was conducted by the Brussels-based polling firm Demoscopy ahead of the Munich Security Conference at the request of the European Commission.

The survey found that the highest threat perception was in France, at 80%, followed by the Netherlands and Denmark at 77% and Germany at 75%.

On defense investments, 32% of the respondents believe the European Union has not taken sufficient steps, while 34% say their own countries have fallen short.

However, 52% of Europeans trust the EU to strengthen security and defense, with confidence the highest in Luxembourg at 76%, followed by Portugal at 74% and Lithuania at 71%.

This confidence is lower in the bloc’s three largest members -- Italy, Germany and France -- where 47% of Germans and Italians and 40% of French respondents disagree with that view.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents also support the EU’s current defense investment or want it increased, with the strongest backing recorded in Portugal at 89%, followed by Finland at 83%, Lithuania and Spain at 80% and Denmark at 78%.

The Flash Eurobarometer 574 survey was carried out online between Jan. 5 and Jan. 12 with around 27,000 participants across the EU’s 27 member states.