EU: European disapproval of US foreign policy has soared during the past year, with strong majorities in France, Germany, Italy and Britain condemning the Bush administration's handling of foreign affairs, according to a new opinion.
The poll, which surveyed 8,000 people on both sides of the Atlantic, also found that large majorities - 83 per cent in the US and 79 per cent in Europe - agreed that Europeans and Americans have different social and cultural values.
Majorities in six of the seven European countries surveyed, which also included the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal, said they disapproved of the way President Bush was handling international policy. The exception was Poland, where 58 per cent supported Mr Bush's policies. Overall, 64 per cent of Europeans disapproved, up from 56 per cent a year ago.
A similar percentage of Europeans condemned the war in Iraq as not worth the loss of life and other associated costs, while 55 per cent of Americans said it was worth it. Just 45 per cent of Europeans believe that it is desirable for the US to exert strong leadership in world affairs, down from 64 per cent a year ago.
"Americans and Europeans are still friends, but Europeans are more likely to be critical both of Bush administration foreign policy in general, and of the Iraq war in particular," concluded the authors of the survey, which was conducted in June and was sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a nonprofit group seeking to foster US-European co-operation, and the Compagnia di San Paolo, a private law foundation based in Turin, Italy.
The poll found that Europeans and Americans shared similar views in identifying the biggest threats to global security. They were international terrorism, North Korea's and Iran's access to weapons of mass destruction, Islamic fundamentalism and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
However, they disagreed over the use of military force to deal with global threats. About 84 per cent of Americans said war may be used to achieve justice, while only 48 per cent of Europeans agreed.
Both sides supported strengthening the UN, but 57 per cent of Americans were prepared to bypass the world organisation when vital interests were at stake, while only about 40 per cent of Europeans said they would do so.