Since his re-election in November, Bush has gone out of his way to improve transatlantic relations damaged by the divisive war in Iraq. He traveled to Europe three times in the first six months of his second term, becoming the first U.S. president to visit the EU's headquarters in Brussels. He has worked hand in hand with European leaders to defuse crises in Ukraine, Iran and Lebanon and sent his cabinet to Union capitals to woo skeptical European governments.

Yet the GMF's annual survey, which was conducted in 10 European countries in June, shows Bush's efforts to mend fences with the EU have been to no avail. Fifty-two percent of Europeans interviewed said transatlantic relations have stayed the same, with more thinking they have got worse since last year than better. More French and Germans thought ties had improved, but publics in some of Washington's staunchest allies - notably Britain, Italy and the Netherlands - said they had deteriorated in 2005.

Bush will not be surprised to find that 85 percent of French and 83 percent of German voters disapprove of his international policies, but he should be concerned that 72 percent of Europeans dislike his foreign policy and 59 percent believe U.S. global leadership is undesirable.

"If you are part of the Bush foreign policy team you have got to be disappointed by these numbers," says Ron Asmus, director of GMF's Brussels office. "Despite the president's charm offensive in Europe, he has got almost no bounce from his efforts over the past year."

One reason for Europeans' standoffishness is they believe the EU should become more independent of the United States in security and diplomatic affairs. By contrast, most Americans favor closer ties with Europe and large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans would like to see Brussels exert strong leadership in world affairs.

Another reason why transatlantic relations are still strained is the continued mayhem Iraq. "Until this open wound is cauterized and healed, European public opinion will stay where it is," Asmus told United Press International.

As in past surveys, Americans have more positive feelings towards European nations than vice versa. Whereas American warmth towards the EU registers 57 degrees on the GMF thermometer, Europeans display a reading of 50 on a scale of 1-100. Again, British and Italians showed a marked cooling towards their NATO ally, with drops of five and four degrees since last year. Despite Washington's unstinting support for Turkish membership of the EU, most Turks are loathe to repay the compliment, with only 28 out of 100 expressing warm feelings towards the United States and almost three-quarters opposed to U.S. global leadership.

The survey, which is based on random telephone interviews with 1,000 men and women in nine EU states plus Turkey, will not make happy reading for the Bush administration. However, there are a few findings that could provide some encouragement to the U.S. administration as it aims to advance its muscular foreign policy.

"The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands," Bush declared in his second inaugural address. Europeans may wince at the president's repeated references to 'freedom' and 'liberty' in his set-piece speeches but they are, in fact, keener on promoting democracy in other countries than Americans. Almost three-quarters believe it should be the role of the EU to actively support democracy across the globe, whereas only half of Americans agree with the statement.

Despite the Bush administration's suspicion of 'soft power' tools, there is a strong preference for peaceful 'regime change' over military intervention on both sides of the Atlantic. This bodes well for joint efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East and the former Soviet republics, where both the EU and the United States monitor elections and support non-governmental organizations.

Another crumb of comfort for Bush from the GMF survey is that clear majorities in both the European Union and United States still believe NATO is the key transatlantic security forum. However, officials in the Alliance's Brussels headquarters and other NATO capitals should be worried at the dramatic slump in support for the world's most powerful military alliance in Germany and Italy over the last three years.

"Six months after George W. Bush's re-election, at a time of introspection in the EU, the rift between the United States and Europe has not widened but appears to be taking longer to close than many hoped," concludes the GMF survey. Half a year is not long to convert a European public more used to being snubbed and ignored than charmed and flattered by the Republican administration. But the few U.S. officials who actually care what the rest of the world thinks of the United States would be wise to analyze why Washington's closest international partner remains at best lukewarm and at worst downright hostile towards it - and to draw the necessary conclusions.

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