A recent poll reveals how Europeans see their continent evolving in the next 50 years…
Europe in 2057 will be predominantly English-speaking, powered by solar and wind energies, financed by the Euro, likely to have experienced at least one other war and not likely to have improved relations with the United States. These are the predictions of close to seven thousand people from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United States polled online by the International Herald Tribune and France 24 between February 28 and March 12, 2007.
The poll was conducted to mark the European Union’s 50th anniversary. The European Economic Community was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and later changed to the European Community. A substantial majority of Europeans believe that the European Union will still exist in 2057 and most believe that it will have expanded its borders to include both Russia and Turkey.
Europeans are pessimistic about their relationship with the United States. Fewer than a third of Europeans polled believe relations between Europe and America will have improved in fifty years, with the British highest on the pessimism scale and only the Italians, the Spanish and the Americans themselves voting highest in the “improved relations” catergory.
Most believe that Europe will experience at least another civil war within a country, sometime in the next 50 years, with the French scoring highest on this point at 37 %. Quality of life is also seen as being in decline, by the French, German and British. The sunny Spanish and Italians are much more optimistic on this point, with 47and 44 % of them, respectively, believing things are actually improving.
Finally, when asked what source of energy will likely be primary fifty years from now, all but the British believe that sun and wind-powered technologies will predominate. The British voted for nuclear power.
To see the full results of the poll, check out
http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/archives/talk/2007/March/20070323-france-24-poll-europe-50/f24NewsParagraphContent/text_files/file/F24-IHT_March%2023rd%20release.pdf
This article was published Monday, March 26, 2007.
