Involvement or Restraint? A representative survey on German attitudes to foreign policy commissioned by Körber Foundation German Foreign Policy: Challenges, Partners and Priorities How strongly are you interested in German foreign policy? Less strongly Not at all 3 % Very strongly Strongly : no answer 1 % 1 4 53 % International responsibility: Should Germany become more strongly involved in international crises? 5 Restraint Become more strongly involved 41 % 52 % : : don t know 3 %, no answer provided 2 % What are the greatest challenges currently facing German foreign policy? Relations with the US / Trump Refugees and migration policy Relations with Turkey / Erdoğan Relations with Russia / Putin 10 % 8 % Syria Cohesion in Europe / the EU istockphoto.com / Route55 / FaberrInk
What is your opinion of NATO? Which country is Germany s most or second most important partner? Should Germany cooperate less or more with each of these countries in the future? 61 % 63 % 3 12 % France US Russia China Austria Britain Italy Spain 3 % 3 % 2 % 2 % : a different country, don t know, no answer provided 2 % : a different country 10 %, don t know 31 %, no answer provided 4 Cooperate less 3 3 1 3 % Cooperate more Britain US France Russia China 82 % 90 % 6 6 5 61 % 41 % 5 6 very positive somewhat positive 52 % somewhat negative somewhat negative very negative very negative very positive somewhat positive don t know, no answer provided 1 % don t know / no answer provided 3 Which country is currently America s most or second most important partner? Should the United States cooperate less or more with each of these countries in the future? Should Germany increase its defence spending? Should Europe increase its defence spending? 3 33 % 2 2 10 % 12 % 12 % 10 % 10 % 8 % 12 % 8 % Britain China Canada Israel Mexico Russia Germany France : a different country 18 %, don t know / no answer provided 2 : a different country, don t know / no answer provided 3 58 % Cooperate less 4 33 % 1 1 Cooperate more France Russia 3 China Britain Germany 73 % 6 5 5 72 % 70 % 6 Lower spending Increase spending 32 % Maintain spending at the current level 40 % 51 % : don t know 2 %, no answer provided 1 % : Lower spending Increase spending Maintain spending at the current level 3 4 : don t know / no answer provided : don t know / no answer provided 3 4
The Value of Europe How should the EU shape its future relationship with Britain after Brexit? The EU is often credited with the following achievements. Which is the most important to you? 31 % 6 4 3 8 % Britain should remain a privileged and special partner of the EU Britain should be treated no differently from any other non-eu member state Preserving peace between the countries in Europe Securing values such as freedom of expression, the rule of law and democracy Increasing prosperity through the single market Personal benefits such as freedom of travel Poland and Hungary are being criticised for violating fundamental EU values such as the rule of law. Should Germany work to ensure that such EU member states are sanctioned, for example, by cutting the financial resources they receive from the EU budget? Is the EU on the right track? The elections to the European Parliament will take place in May 2019. Do you think that Eurosceptic parties will make significant gains at the elections? No Yes 74 % 63 % No Yes 32 % 5 3 2 No Yes 71 % : don t know, no answer provided 1 % : don t know don t know, no answer provided 1 % Has cohesion between the EU member states recently... Was EU Eastern enlargement in 2004 the right decision? tended to strengthen 7 tended to weaken 4 No Yes 4 1 basically remained the same don t know, no answer provided 1 %
A Neighbourhood in Turmoil Transatlantic Relations Should Germany? Has Germany done enough or not enough to end the war in Syria? How would you rate the current relationship between Germany and the US? largely determine its own refugee policy actively coordinate its refugee policy together with its European partners 40 % Done enough don t know, no answer provided 3 % 48 % Not done enough 63 % 52 % somewhat bad very bad 10 % very good 1 % 1 % somewhat good 41 % somewhat bad 18 % very bad very good 12 % somewhat good 58 % 5 Recently, there have been repeated tensions between Germany and Turkey. How should Germany shape its relationship with Turkey in the future? Should Germany : don t know 2 %, no answer provided 1 % : don t know 2 % : don t know : don t know 10 % 61 % maintain its distance from Turkey seek rapprochement with Turkey 33 % neither nor 3 %, don t know 2 %, no answer provided 1 % Should US-Germany relations continue to stay as close as they have been in the past or should Germany develop its foreign policy more independently of the US? 2 Relations should stay as close as they have been 72 % Germany should develop its foreign policy more independently of the US Should the relationship between the US and Europe remain as close as it has been or should the US take a more independent approach to foreign policy than it has in the past? 6 Remain as close The US should be more independent don t know, no answer provided What is more important for Germany...? The US has recently raised tariffs on goods from Germany and the EU. In response, Germany and the EU have also increased tariffs on goods from the US. 38 % 32 % 42 % having close relations with the US 32 % spontaneous response: equally close relations with both countries having close relations with Russia Disagree Do you agree or disagree with Germany and the EU raising tariffs against the US? Agree Do you support or oppose the US policy of increased tariffs on Germany and other European countries? 51 % Oppose 4 Support : don t know, no answer provided 3 % : don t know, no answer provided 2 % don t know, no answer provided 1 % don t know, no answer provided
The Future of Multilateralism What is your view of China s growing influence? 42 % 3 Negative Positive Neutral 4 51% : don t know 1 % : Does free trade tend to provide you with more advantages or disadvantages? 53 % 68 % more disadvantages more advantages more disadvantages more advantages neither nor 10 %, don t know, no answer provided 1 % don t know, no answer provided Artificial intelligence is a key future technology. Is Germany doing enough to compete internationally in this area? Yes AI 62 % No The representative survey was commissioned by Körber Foundation and carried out by KANTAR PUBLIC Germany in September. The results are represen tative: a representative random sample technique was used for the selection of respondents; 1.002 people were interviewed via phone. You can access all data and results on www.theberlinpulse.org. don t know 12 %, no answer provided