Survey: Romanians most concerned by war on EU territory but also most favorable to Trump, Musk

A new survey aiming to assess European citizens' views on transatlantic relations and security issues found that citizens in Romania and Poland are the most concerned about the possibility of an armed conflict in the coming years, but also share relatively positive views of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Around 74% of Romanians, and 71% of the Polish, believe that a war is possible on EU territory in the near future, according to the survey commissioned by Le Grand Continent and Cluster 17 and conducted among more than 10,000 people between March 11 and 14.

The same survey, conducted in the EU’s 8 largest countries and Denmark, shows that more than half, or 51%, of Europeans say US president Donald Trump is an enemy of Europe. Around 63% say that Trump’s election makes the world less safe, while only 13% believe Trump respects democratic principles. Around 39% say that the US president acts like a dictator, while 43% say he has authoritarian tendencies.

Contrary to this view, 23% of Romanians and 20% of people in Poland have a positive view of Donald Trump, the highest percentages in Europe.

The same survey assessed Europeans’ view of billionaire presidential adviser Elon Musk. Almost 8 out of 10 citizens say that he cannot be trusted, and half of respondents in Belgium, Denmark, and France think Tesla cars should be boycotted.

Around 14% of Romanians have a positive view of Elon Musk, in stark contrast with the dominating view in the EU, with Poland at 10%. Moreover, only 36% of Romanians believe Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky respects democratic principles, compared to the 48% average in the 9 EU countries.

Only a tenth of respondents say the EU can rely on Trump’s America to ensure its security and defense, while 70% say the bloc must rely solely on its own forces to ensure its protection. Here, as well, Romania is out of step with the other EU countries, with only 57% sharing the same opinion.

Opinion is more divided on whether that should be via national armies or a common European force, but a majority in most countries would support a common EU military. Romania (46%) and Poland (37%) have the lowest level of support for such an initiative.

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