Nearly two in three Germans back European nuclear shield

Nearly two-thirds of Germans support the creation of an independent European nuclear deterrent, separate from the United States, according to a new survey.

The poll, conducted by the Forsa polling institute for the magazine Internationale Politik (International Politics), found that 64% of respondents were in favour of establishing a European nuclear shield as a deterrent, while only 29% were opposed.

The survey was conducted on June 12 and 13, before the latest escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, which included direct US military involvement on Israel’s side.

Even before taking office in May, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced plans to seek talks with the United Kingdom and France – Europe’s two nuclear powers – to explore a shared European nuclear strategy. The idea is to reduce Europe’s dependence on the US nuclear umbrella, particularly in light of the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump.

Support for a European nuclear deterrent spans all demographic and voter groups, according to the survey – an uncommon level of consensus on foreign policy issues in Germany.

In western Germany, 66% of respondents backed the idea, compared to 52% in the east. Among respondents under 45, support stood at 58.5%, rising to 67.5% among those over 45.

According to the poll, 78% of Green Party voters backed a European nuclear umbrella, followed by 71% of supporters of Chancellor Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). Among voters for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), junior partner in the government, 65% expressed support.

A majority also supported the idea among voters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) at 54% and among supporters of The Left party at 52%.

The representative survey was based on responses from 1,005 participants and has a statistical margin of error of three percentage points.

Source: dpa

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