Majority of Germans think UK will not benefit long term from Brexit, Euronews survey reveals

A majority of Germans believe the UK will not reap any long term benefits from leaving the European Union, a Euronews-commissioned survey has revealed.

Nearly 60% of respondents in Germany said that Brexit would not provide the UK with any gains further down the line.

But there is less confidence in other countries.

Only around a third in France (30%) and Italy (36%) think the same. Nearly half (47%) of Brits surveyed believe there will be long-term benefits from Brexit.

Views about whether EU membership has been good or bad for their country are more or less evenly split in Italy and France, among those who see it as positive, negative or don't know. In Germany, the prevailing opinion, at 47%, is that being a member of the bloc has been beneficial.

On the basic question of EU membership, some are more enthusiastic than others. Germans are happy to stay, by a majority of 64%. In France, just over half want to remain, while in Italy those committed to the union are slightly eclipsed by a combination of leavers and the unsure.

Ultimately, attitudes to the EU among members states are a question of trust. People at a national level vote for members of the European Parliament, but for many, Brussels and its institutions still seem remote.

That may explain why the majority view in all three countries is that the EU doesn't have their best interests at heart. More than half of Italians feel that way, as do 46% of the French. The Germans are the most trusting, with 40% seeing Brussels as well-intentioned.

The surveys were carried out on behalf of Euronews by Redfield & Wilton Strategies. Sample sizes of 1,500 were used in each country.