BRITAIN:A MAJORITY of Irish people favour closer relations with the United States but large numbers consider the US to have a negative influence in the world today, a new survey exploring transatlantic relations has found. MARY FITZGERALD, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, reports.
The research, commissioned by the British Council, confirms fears that relations between Europe and the US have become strained in recent years, with 46 per cent of Europeans saying they believe the US has a negative influence internationally. Asked to rate the overall influence of the US in the world, 48 per cent of Irish respondents described it as positive, while 46 per cent said it was negative.
Countries where respondents had a more negative view than that reported in Ireland included Spain, Germany and Turkey, while British, French and Polish respondents had a more positive view of US influence.
Almost two-thirds of Europeans said they favour a closer relationship with the US. Large majorities of Irish, Poles, Germans and Spanish said they would welcome closer ties.
More modest numbers of Britons (51 per cent) were in favour and only a minority (39 per cent) of French agreed.
The most common reason given by Irish respondents who showed low levels of enthusiasm for closer links was that the relationship is already close enough. Other reasons included a dislike of US culture or a belief that the US already has too much influence on Ireland. Only 8 per cent said it was because they dislike US foreign policy.
The research found Irish and British respondents were more likely than other Europeans to characterise relations with the US as warm.
Support for closer transatlantic relations was found to be higher among older Europeans than the young.
Nine out of 10 Americans, meanwhile, seek stronger ties with Europe, according to the poll, conducted in January in the US, Canada and seven European countries on behalf of the British Council. Representative samples of at least 500 adults were interviewed by phone in each country.
The survey found Europeans are more likely to hold strong negative stereotypes of Americans. The traits most commonly attributed to Americans by Irish respondents were aggressiveness, selfishness, openness and boldness/daring. A significant number of Irish people polled described Americans as manipulative.
The research was published to coincide with the launch of a British Council project aimed at bringing young Europeans and Americans together to discuss the future of transatlantic relations. The Transatlantic Network 2020 initiative will convene for its inaugural summit in Dublin and Belfast in September.