BRUSSELS, July 2. /TASS/. Most EU residents believe the bloc cannot defend itself independently in the event of an armed conflict, according to a public opinion poll conducted by Public First for Politico.

The poll found that 43% of respondents believe Europe is not prepared to defend itself in the event of a conflict, while 41% expressed the contrary view. Meanwhile, 58% of Europeans said their own country is not prepared to defend itself independently, while 27% held a different opinion.

Respondents identified the Baltic states, Romania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland as the countries least prepared to wage a war on their own. Respondents expressed the greatest confidence in the military capabilities of Finland and Croatia.

Public First conducted the survey across 24 EU countries from June 6 to June 22 among nearly 24,000 respondents aged 18 and older. The survey's margin of error does not exceed 3.6 percentage points.