A man holds an American flag depicting President-elect Donald Trump in London’s Parliament Square.
Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images News | Getty Images
As UK and EU leaders want restore relations before the president Donald TrumpBack in the White House, public sentiment across the continent appears to be shifting in favor of closer ties, according to a new poll.
A majority of Britons (55%) believe the UK should realign with the EU as part of a second Trump term, and prioritize stronger ties with Brussels over the US (17%), a survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations showed on Thursday. Britain has also been reluctant to follow Trump’s lead on key foreign policy issues such as China and Ukraine.
On the continent, the feeling is mutual, with a plurality of respondents in EU countries — and Germany and Poland in particular — supporting closer ties with the UK.
The survey, carried out in the run-up to the US election, aims to provide the latest snapshot of public opinion on Brexit, more than eight years after the landmark vote.
Note UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves spoke on Monday about renewing relations with Brussels during a trip to meet her EU counterparts. first such meeting Since Britain officially left the bloc in 2020.
“We no longer live in a Brexit world. That world ended on November 5, 2024,” ECFR co-founder and foreign policy expert Mark Leonard said at an event in London to announce the findings.
“There is a striking and widespread desire for rapprochement on both sides of the Channel,” he added.
The survey – which polled more than 9,000 people in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain – showed a particular willingness on both sides to cooperate more closely on trade and security.
If the UK is somehow forced to choose between the US and the EU… that is perhaps a binary choice
Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Former Prime Minister of Denmark
In the UK, most respondents said they had seen improved relations to support key priorities around migration, security and the economy. Meanwhile, European respondents said they would like to give the UK “special access” to the EU’s single market and access to the bloc’s research programs in exchange for greater security cooperation.
Both sides also expressed their willingness to consider the free movement of people in exchange for strengthening economic relations.
Trump’s tariffs create “binary” options
Trump has added the November 5th election to a restless in Europeparticularly on national security and the impact of potential tariffs, the president-elect previously warned that the EU could be subject to new trade tariffs to address a significant trade imbalance.
The UK, on the other hand, which has a much smaller trade imbalance with the US, may be looking forward to it. “special relationship” Across the Atlantic—and Trump’s— Affinity with Brexit — are sufficient to save him from the most punitive measures.
Former Danish prime minister and ECFR board administrator Helle Thorning-Schmidt told CNBC that it was expected — and in the UK’s interest — to have “the closest possible relationship with the US.” But he said that this should not prevent close relations with the EU either.
“If we’re looking for a reset, now is a good time,” he said, noting that the current backdrop could improve the UK’s position as it seeks to improve relations with the EU. “This is perhaps a time when there is an opportunity to ask for a bit more leverage (for the UK).”
Thorning-Schmidt, who was prime minister between 2011 and 2015, admitted, however, that there could be some “binary” options ahead as both sides seek to settle under a Trump presidency.
“If tariffs come to us, do we retaliate? Is that the answer?” said Thorning-Schmidt.
“If we are asked to align more with the US in terms of China policy, that may also be a binary choice,” he continued.
“And if the UK is somehow forced to choose between the US and the EU — I don’t think they will — that’s perhaps a binary choice.”
