Helsinki, May 10 (IANS) People in Finland have expressed support for European Union lowering its economic and technological dependency on the US and China, a new survey has revealed.
According to a survey published by the two think-tanks – the state-supported Finnish Innovation Fund (Sitra) and the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (Eva), 77 per cent of respondents said that Europe must reduce its technological and economic reliance on the US, even if it impacts bilateral ties. However, nine per cent of respondents were against it, Finland-based Yle reported.
In a statement, the researchers said: “This is not direct anti-Americanism. Finns seem to distinguish between security cooperation and economic and technological dependence.”
Nearly three-quarters of respondents back tighter restrictions on energy networks, ports, and other strategic assets for security reasons. The same number of respondents stated that European firms should be supported in public procurement, even if that means higher prices. Nearly three out of four respondents express support for developing partnerships with emerging economies like India, Brazil, or Vietnam to reduce dependence on China.
The majority of respondents said security should be given more priority than climate goals when required. Nearly two-thirds back reducing Europe’s technological dependence on China, like batteries and electric cars, even if that would slow climate action.
Asked about the issues that the EU should emphasise more in the future, self-sufficiency and security were ranked highly by the respondents, Yle reported.
As many as 65 per cent of the respondents said more emphasis should be given to common defence, while 44 per cent said that the focus should be more on the fight against climate change.
The survey was conducted by Taloustutkimus in March, and responses were taken from more than 2,000 adults in mainland Finland and 34 invited EU experts. It stated that the margin of error is 2–3 percentage points in either direction.
–IANS
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