Most Britons favor closeness to Europe: Poll

British Prime Minister's "shoulder to shoulder" support for America is rejected by a majority of British people, who believe it is more important to have good relations with European countries, according to results of a poll released on Wednesday.

The poll conducted for The Independent newspaper found that 64 percent of people think that having good relations with Britain's European Union partners is more important than with the United States, while only 25 percent believe the relationship with the USshould take priority.

The survey revealed clear age differences on Britain's priorities. People between 44 and 54 are the most favorable towards good relations with the rest of Europe rather than the US,while people aged 55 and over are most keen on good relations with America.

Women are much keener on good relations with Europe than men, who are more likely than women to regard US links as important, according to the poll conducted among 953 people across Britain between 12 and 14 November.

"This is a remarkably encouraging result, which shows that we Britons are, in fact, far less negative in our attitude towards Europe than we think we are," the newspaper said.

One implication is that the prospects for a "yes" vote in the promised referendum on the European Union Constitution may not be as hopeless as they are often presented.

The poll's results could be seen as evidence of hostility to President Bush in Britain and opposition to Blair's decision to back him over Iraq rather than pursue a European solution, the paper added.

Source: Xinhua