As international crises deepen in Europe and the Middle East and the Euro-Atlantic security architecture comes under increasing strain, Greeks appear markedly more conflicted than other Europeans over who constitutes an ally and who poses a threat to the European Union. They are more likely than any other Europeans to view the United States as the biggest threat to Europe while also recording the highest share of respondents who regard Russia as the EU’s most reliable ally.
According to a Europe-wide Polling Europe survey, published exclusively by Kathimerini, 45% of EU citizens identify Russia as the greatest threat to Europe, compared with 21% who point to the United States and 12% who cite China.
‘In Southern Europe, a more pragmatic and multipolar approach is taking shape, with alliances assessed not solely through the US-Russia divide but also in light of economic interests, historical experience and regional priorities’
In Greece, by contrast, 31% of respondents rank the United States as the greatest threat, while only 29% view Russia as a threat. A similar pattern emerges elsewhere in southern Europe, where 30% of respondents in Spain and 26% in Italy regard the United States as a threat. In central and northern Europe, meanwhile – partly because of geographic proximity – Russia is overwhelmingly viewed as the primary threat, by 68% in Hungary, 64% in the Netherlands and 50% in Poland.
