you just neve know what will affect us with cf/ biased post, beware!

[Guest guest]

I cannot speak for the accuracy of the following, but it worries me as it

(the negative feelings of Europeans) will have a direct effect upon the

pharmaceutical industry, many of whose primary locations are in Europe,

making this, therefore, related to cystic fibrosis in other diesases.

Submitted by n Rojas, of the usa, who sympathises with the fears

herein expressed.

01.08.2003

Europeans Fear the Influence of Uncle Sam

With criticism from all quarters currently flying in the direction of

Washington, the European Commission releases a study that shows Europeans are

still

less than happy with the United States.

A study recently released by the European Commission shows that many

Europeans believe that the United States is having a negative influence in world

politics and are joined by more than half of the 32,000 American expatriates

living

in Europe who share the same feelings. The Eurobarometer study shows that

'anti-Americanism,' the catch-all title that has been used to describe the

expression of concerns arising from current U.S. policy, is alive and well and

is

part of many EU citizens' world view.

There is no doubt that anti-Americanism has become a buzz word in Europe over

the last year. The most obvious fuel to this apparently smoldering fire has

come from the on-going military operations of the U.S. armed forces and the

White House policy makers who have deployed them. Rows erupting over everything

from the Israeli-Palestinian situation to global warming have seemingly set the

United States against the world.

In Europe, high-level disagreements over policy between the leaders of the

European Union and those in the Bush administration have reached grass roots

level with public outpourings of opposition to the U.S. approach to global

security, human rights, the environment and international relations rife

throughout

the last 12 months. The new study shows that these feelings continue to run

deep and not just among those Europeans who oppose the spread of Pax Americana

but also U.S. expatriates living in the EU.

Germans fear new world war

In the European countries that were most vocal in their protests against

military action in Iraq - Germany, France and Belgium - criticism of the United

States remains high with two-thirds of those surveyed expressing strong negative

feelings, believing that the United States poses a threat to world peace. In

Germany, many of those polled in the 15-25 age group also fear that U.S.

foreign policy could lead to a new world war.

Most Germans, 80 percent of those questioned, also believe that the European

Union should work towards a single security and defense strategy, allowing the

EU to operate with more cohesion and collective power in the face of what

they see to be U.S. domination in conflict management. The same number believes

that EU foreign policy should be independent of that of the United States.

U.S. influence in NATO causes concern

The majority of Europeans are critical of U.S. influence in NATO and the

consensus is that future military decisions should be made solely through the

European Union. Advocates of this EU-centric defense policy are Greece, Belgium,

Germany, Finland, Austria and Sweden.

Out of the 15 member states, Greece comes out as the most generally critical

country within the EU. A total of 91 percent of Greeks say that the United

States has a negative influence on world stability.

Climate policy worries Americans abroad

Americans within the EU are also concerned about their country's role on the

international stage and the negative responses many of its policies are

generating around the world. Over 16,000 express worries in the study,

specifically

on the United States' attitude and actions in the war on poverty and its

global environmental policy.

Many expatriates mention refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global

warming as one of the most damaging events of the Bush administration so far,

along

with the disregard for international opinion and protest regarding the war in

Iraq.

The Eurobarometer study is conducted every six months and serves as the main

tool for evaluating public opinion in the 15 member states. Since 1973 the

European Commission has relied on the results of the study to help analyze its

decision-making and policy issues.

Each survey consists of approximately 1,000 face-to-face interviews per

member state and cover topics concerning European citizenship, enlargement,

social

situation, health, culture, information technology, environment, the euro

currency and defense.

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