As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year and the war in the Middle East rages on, more than seven in 10 EU respondents say they are “highly worried” about the active conflicts near the European Union, according to the latest Eurobarometer.
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Among the 16 EU countries where this was the most common concern, Spanish (84%), Italian (83%), and Cypriot (80%) respondents were the most likely to express significant uneasiness about the wars.
So far, Cyprus has been the member state particularly affected by the escalating war in the Middle East.
In early March, British military bases in Akrotiri, Cyprus, were targeted with Iranian drone attacks, with one drone punching a hole in an aircraft hangar reportedly used by US spy planes and the two others being intercepted.
These incidents led Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to state at the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday, 19 March, that he sought for Cyprus and the UK to have “an open and frank discussion” about the future of British RAF bases in Cyprus.
The European Council has also “acknowledged” Cyprus’s intention to initiate a discussion with the UK on the country’s RAF bases in Cyprus and “stands ready to provide assistance as needed”, noted a press release on 19 March.
How is the EU’s response to geopolitical instability viewed by Europeans?
EU leaders seem unable to reach a consensus on how to approach Europe’s defence.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has ruled out the likelihood of coping without US support.
“If anyone thinks that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t,” Rutte said in the European Parliament at the end of January.
Meanwhile, despite having different approaches, France and Spain agree that Europe needs to stand on its own two feet without the interference of non-EU countries.
EU citizens lean towards the latter: two-thirds of Europeans would like the EU to play a greater role in protecting them against global crises and security risks.
Spaniards, Italians and Cypriots tend to be the most anxious about the EU’s dependence on non-EU countries for defence.
In contrast, the lowest levels of worry came from Slovenia (40%), Latvia, Estonia, and Czechia (all three at 41%).
EU’s reliance on energy
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered a European energy dilemma, which the ongoing war in the Middle East has threatened to worsen.
As prices skyrocketed in 2022 and continue to soar, EU citizens are concerned about the EU’s reliance on non-EU countries for its energy supply.
The largest shares of those highly worried about this were seen in Italy (78%), Spain (75%), and Poland (73%), while the lowest levels of worry were recorded in Denmark (38%), Lithuania (39%), and Sweden (43%).
89% of respondents say that EU Member States should be more united to face current global challenges, and 86% want the EU to have a stronger voice at the international level.
