Moscow's behavior toward its neighbors is of growing concern among NATO allies, and Europeans support the idea of the European Union providing security assistance to emerging democracies such as Ukraine and Georgia, according to a survey conducted as part of the Transatlantic Trends 2009, a joint project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Compagnia di San Paolo (Italy).
The report reads that "Moscow's behavior toward its neighbors is of growing concern among the NATO allies."
"The most worried were the Dutch (78%) and the Americans (78%, with 35% very concerned). The least troubled were the Bulgarians (40%). But in all countries, apart from in Poland, more people were worried in 2009 than in 2008," according to the findings.
The survey shows that both Americans and Europeans also supported countering Russian influence.
"Seven in ten Europeans (70%) favored the European Union providing security assistance to emerging democracies such as Ukraine and Georgia. And a majority of Americans (68%) backed Washington taking similar action. Strong majorities (62%) in the European Union and Turkey and in the United States (66%) favored NATO providing such assistance," reads the document.
Transatlantic Trends is a comprehensive annual survey of U.S. and European public opinion. Polling was conducted between June 9, 2009 and July 1, 2009 in the United States and 12 European countries: Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. TNS Opinion was commissioned to conduct the survey using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews in all countries except Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Turkey, where lower telephone penetration necessitated the use of face-to-face interviews.
In all countries, a random sample of approximately 1,000 men and women, 18 years of age and older, was interviewed.
The survey is a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Compagnia di San Paolo, with additional support from the Fundacao Luso-Americana, Fundacion BBVA, and the Tipping Point Foundation.
