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EU stunned by results of own opinion poll

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Published 04 November 2003 - Updated 29 January 2010
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Eurobarometer
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Israel has voiced outrage over an EU-wide opinion poll that identified the country as the biggest threat to world peace. The Commission has acknowledged that Israel's anger was "legitimate".

Many Israelis believe that Europe is biased against Israel, and they sense a lingering anti-Semitic prejudice there. This perception is largely ascribed to the EU's support for the Palestinians at the UN and other world forums.

The EU denies it is anti-Israel. The EU, the US, the UN, and Russia are co-authors of the latest peace plan known as the "road map."

 

Positions: 
During his visit to New York,Commission President Romano Prodiexpressed his concern about the survey's conclusions, saying that they "point to the continued existence of a bias that must be condemned out of hand". "To the extent that this may indicate a deeper, more general prejudice against the Jewish world, our repugnance is even more radical".

AnEU spokesmansaid the poll results would not affect the EU's short-term policy-making. However, theBBCpredicted that the findings may reduce EU diplomats' effectiveness in dealing with the Israel-Palestinian conflict by heightening Israeli distrust of the EU.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconicalled Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to express his "surprise and indignation". Mr Berlusconi said the survey question had been "misleading".

The list of 15 countries in the survey that might be a threat to peace was put together by EOS Gallup Europe. The list was not cleared by foreign policy experts working forExternal Relations Commissioner Chris Patten. "We had nothing to do with it", said Mr Patten's spokesman.

TheIsraeli mission to the EUsaid in a statement that "we are not only sad but outraged. Not at European citizens but at those who are responsible for forming public opinion". Those who ask biased questions "should face the consequences of the biased answers they get", the statement added. The mission said the survey revealed a "hidden agenda" by the EU executive.

According to the AP quoting Israeli media reports, theIsraeli Foreign Ministrycalled a special meeting on 2 November in reaction to the poll and is considering hiring a public relations firm to start a campaign for Israel in European countries.

However,Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalomappeared less disturbed. "But who cares about such polls?" he asked, saying that negative findings tended to get greater prominence than positive ones. "One need not dramatise every poll and there's no need for bile," he said.

The US-basedSimon Wiesenthal Centersaid the survey "shows that anti-Semitism is deeply embedded within European society". Consequently, Israel should exclude the EU and its Member States from any future Middle East peace process, the Center said.

 

Background: 
In the latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the EU, 59 per cent of Europeans identified Israel as a threat to peace, putting it ahead of Iran, North Korea and the US. Each of the latter polled 53 per cent. Iraq was named by 52 per cent and Afghanistan by 50 per cent. The Palestinian Authority was not included because it is not considered a country. Distrust of Israel was found to be at its strongest in the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, and Germany. Italy was the only EU Member State where less than half of the population, 48 per cent, considered Israel a threat to world peace. The survey of 7,515 people in the 15 EU countries was carried out between 8 and 16 October. It was one of 60 surveys the Commission carries out every year.

 

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