European Security (September 2025)

The study on European security was conducted by dimap on behalf of the Federal Press Office. During the survey period from September 8, 2025, to September 20, 2025, the population aged 16 and older in Germany was interviewed by telephone (CATI) on the following topics: identification with Europe, global action by the EU, and Germany´s security policy role in the EU. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample based on the RDD method, including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample). 1. Identification with Europe: connection to the city, the state, Germany, and Europe; strengths of the European Union (open-ended, with precodes: Europe can better represent its interests and values in the world, without border controls, travel is easier, it is easier to work in other European countries, you can pay almost everywhere with the euro, simplified trade, peace and security in Europe, solidarity between member states, mutual assistance, cultural diversity, democracy, freedom, and the rule of law); economic strength; weaknesses of the European Union (open-ended, with precodes: e.g., long decision-making processes and bureaucracy, too many regulations that must be implemented in the member states, the interests of individual member states are not taken into account sufficiently, too many members with different interests, etc.); predominance of advantages or disadvantages of EU membership for Germany; assessment of Germany´s influence in the EU; Germany should exert more or less influence in the European Union in the future. 2. Global action by the EU: Issues that the European Union should prioritize in the coming years (open-ended); importance of various political tasks of the European Union (protection of the EU´s external borders, strengthening cohesion among member states, stabilizing the euro, closer cooperation in defense policy, more balanced distribution of refugees and asylum seekers among member states); progress of the European Union in the above-mentioned policy areas; policy areas where EU member states should cooperate more closely or act more strongly at the national level (foreign and security policy, climate and energy policy, refugee policy, social policy, economic and financial policy, digital policy); importance of the European Union presenting a united front in foreign policy issues; united vs. rather divided stance of the European Union towards the following countries: Russia, USA, China, and Israel; future expectations with regard to the EU acting as a unified entity on a global level. 3. Germany´s security policy role in the EU: assessment of the influence of various countries and regions in the world (European Union, USA, China, Africa, Russia, Germany); assessment of the potential threat posed by the policies of Russia, China, the USA, and Israel to the security of the European Union; the USA under President Donald Trump as a reliable partner for Europe vs. not a reliable partner for Europe; confidence that NATO deters military aggressors; agreement with the following views on the NATO military and defense alliance: NATO is important for securing peace in Europe, NATO is superfluous and should be dissolved, it is in Europe´s interest to maintain a joint military alliance with the US; Europeans should build their own defense alliance in the long term in terms of security policy; support for a joint European army under European command; assessment of the increase in defense spending from 2 to 5 percent of the gross domestic product of all NATO member states as appropriate, going too far, or not going far enough. Demography: Sex; age (grouped); federal state; Berlin East/West; size of town; highest level of education; party affiliation. The following were also coded: respondent ID; weighting factor.