UK and EU leaders want a reset after Trump’s win – and now voters want it too | Real Time Headlines

As UK and EU leaders seek reset relationship Leading the President-elect Donald TrumpWith Trump back in the White House, public sentiment appears to be shifting in favor of closer ties across the continent, according to a new survey.

Research from the European Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday showed that a majority of Britons (55%) believe the UK should realign with the EU during Trump’s second term and prioritize strengthening ties with Brussels over the United States (17%). The UK is also unwilling to follow Trump’s lead on major foreign policy issues such as China and Ukraine.

Across the continent, the feeling is mutual, with many respondents in EU countries, particularly Germany and Poland, supporting closer ties with the UK

The research, conducted in the wake of the US election, aims to provide an update on public views on Brexit more than eight years after the landmark referendum.

Days earlier, British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves spoke of re-establishing ties with Brussels during a meeting with her EU counterparts on Monday. first such meeting Since the UK officially left the EU in 2020.

“We no longer live in a Brexit world. That world will begin in November 2024,” ECFR co-founder and foreign policy expert Mark Leonard said at an event in London to announce the findings. Ends on the 5th.

“There is a strong and widespread desire on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to be more closely connected,” he added.

The survey of more than 9,000 people in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain showed a particular willingness to work closer on trade and security.

In the UK, the majority of respondents said they believed improved relations would help them address key priorities such as immigration, security and the economy. At the same time, European respondents said they were willing to give the UK “special access” to the EU single market and the opportunity to participate in EU research projects in exchange for greater security cooperation.

Both sides also expressed a willingness to consider free movement of people in exchange for stronger economic ties.

Trump’s Nov. 5 election increases Europe’s uneaseespecially around national security and the impact of potential tariffs, the president-elect has previously warned that the EU may impose new trade taxes to address a serious trade imbalance.

At the same time, the UK’s trade imbalance with the US is much smaller and it may hope that its “Special Relationship” Across the Atlantic—and Trump’s Affinity for Brexit —enough to exempt it from the most punitive measures.

Former Danish Prime Minister and ECFR Board Trustee Helle Thorning-Schmidt told CNBC that the UK is expected to pursue “the closest possible relationship with the United States”, which is also in the UK’s interests. But she said this should not hinder close ties with the EU.

“If we are looking to recalibrate, now is a good time,” she said, noting that the current backdrop might actually improve the UK’s position as it seeks to improve its relationship with the EU. “Now (the UK) may have the leverage to ask for a little more.”

However, Thorning-Schmidt, who served as chancellor from 2011 to 2015, acknowledged that there may be some “binary” choices ahead as both parties seek to position themselves under Trump’s presidency.

“If we impose tariffs, will we retaliate? Is that an answer?” Thorning-Schmidt said.

“If we were asked to be more consistent with the United States on China policy, that might also be a binary choice,” she continued.

“If the UK is forced to choose between the US and the EU – which I don’t think they will – it could be a binary choice.”