Survey reveals high public trust in EU

A survey published by the European Union has shown trust in the bloc and its political institutions is at its highest level in nearly 20 years, as the 27-state grouping continues to mull over its unified response to the disarray in global trade caused by the United States' tariff program.

Confidence is at its highest among people in the 15-24 age bracket, the Eurobarometer poll revealed, with a score of 59 percent.

US President Donald Trump was not mentioned by name in the questions for the survey, which was carried out over four weeks from the end of March to the end of April, and so began before details of the tariff program were made public.

Currently, Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that the EU was "formed in order to screw the US", plans to impose 50 percent tariffs on imports from the bloc, although enactment of this had been put on hold for further talks even before a US trade court put a halt to the entire tariff policy, saying Trump had exceeded his powers.

Just 36 percent of respondents to the survey said they trusted their own governments, but support for the euro was higher than ever, with 74 percent of all EU citizens, and 83 percent of those in the 20 countries that use the common currency, giving their approval to a unified European economic and monetary policy.

Bulgaria's joining of the eurozone from the start of next year is expected to be approved imminently, reported Reuters.

Although the common currency commands wide support, opinion is more divided on the current health of the European economy, with 44 percent calling it good, and 48 percent having a negative view.

Aside from economics, other concerns across the EU at the moment were the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and continued doubts over the defensive reliability of the US. Earlier this week, 26 member states backed the creation of a 150-billion-euro ($170-billion) loan fund for defense spending, with Hungary the only EU member to abstain in the vote.

The program, known as Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, was welcomed by France's Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad, who said it asserted "a very clear principle of European preference to support our industries, reduce our dependencies, including from the US, and invest in Europe's strategic autonomy … but it is just one step — and we will need to go further".

This air of common purpose was echoed by public support in the survey, with 81 percent of those questioned backing a united defense and security policy, the highest approval rating since 2004.