71% of Latvians see Russia as the main threat to Europe - survey

RIGA - A vast majority of Latvians, or 71 percent, consider Russia to be the main threat to Europe's security, the Security Radar 2025 survey by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation shows.

As for Latvia's Russian-speakers, only 8 percent of respondents in this minority group see Russia as a security threat. Meanwhile, the United States is seen as a threat by 28 percent of all respondents and by 52 percent of Russian-speakers.

Most people in Latvia, or 74 percent, feel that Latvia alone could not defend itself in the event of war. Respondents in Latvia underline their country's dependence on alliances, with 68 percent saying that Latvia's wellbeing is closely linked to positive developments in other countries.

Only 48 percent of Latvians back the "my country first" approach, which is the lowest percentage among the 14 surveyed OSCE countries. Of the polled Latvians, 74 percent believe that their country lacks sufficient defense capabilities and it would not be able to defend itself against a Russian attack. This is the highest percentage after Georgia.

Around 53 percent of Latvians believe that the European Union (EU) is unprotected without support from the US, while support for the creation of an EU army remains unchanged at 50 percent. It has not increased since Russia's reinvasion of Ukraine.

Almost 70 percent of Latvians expressed a desire for greater independence from the US. Meanwhile, views on NATO enlargement towards Russia and EU enlargement to the East differ from those of other countries surveyed - most Latvians do not see enlargement as a threat to European security, while elsewhere this concern is growing.

The survey shows that the Latvian public is in favor of increasing defense spending. At the same time, there are concerns that resources for social equity may be insufficient. As many as 48 percent of the respondents support a special tax on the wealthy to cover the increase in defense spending.

Maintaining Europe's defense capabilities will depend not only on increased spending, but also on democratic and public resilience. Striking a balance between defense and social spending will therefore be crucial to sustaining social equity in the long term, the authors of the study argue.

Given the tensions between Russia and the West, the survey shows a widespread sense of insecurity across the OSCE region.

Most respondents believe that events such as the "new Cold War" between the US and China are indicative of a changing world order. In most European countries, Russia is seen as the main threat, while China is seen as the main adversary of the US.

The majority of Republican voters in the US no longer support unconditional support for European security. This change in the transatlantic relationship is also being felt in Europe, where only a third of the population believes that Europe can defend itself without US support - 63 percent agree that Europe needs to become increasingly independent.

The study was officially presented last Friday at the Munich Security Conference.