WASHINGTON, April 14. /TASS/. More than half of Americans believe that Europe is too reliant on the United States for defense and should shoulder more responsibility for the continent’s security, according to a Newsweek poll published on Thursday.

Overall, 59% of respondents to the poll said so, while a quarter of those surveyed neither agreed nor disagreed, and a mere 8% disagreed. Sixty-six percent of respondents agreed that European security was on the list of vital US interests; only 6% disagreed, and 19% neither agreed nor disagreed here, with 10% saying they do not know. The survey was conducted among 1,500 eligible US voters on April 4.

"If Europe wants to be the third power, Europe needs to also face up to some of its global responsibilities and that goes beyond Europe," the news magazine quoted Fabrice Pother, a former director of policy planning for NATO, as saying.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron called for European strategic autonomy. Macron paid a state visit to Beijing on April 5-7. Following the trip, he said Europe should not take its cue from the US agenda and avoid getting dragged into conflicts between third countries, including into a confrontation between China and the US over Taiwan.