UK and EU leaders want a reset after Trump's win — and now voters want it too

As U.K. and EU leaders seek to reset relations ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House, public sentiment also appears to be shifting in favor of closer ties across the continent, according to a new survey.

The majority of Britons (55%) think the U.K. should realign with the EU under a second Trump term, and prioritize stronger relations with Brussels over the U.S. (17%), research from the European Council on Foreign Relations showed Thursday. There was also reluctance for Britain to follow Trump's lead on major foreign policy issues such as China and Ukraine.

On the continent, the feeling is mutual, with pluralities of respondents across EU countries — and Germany and Poland in particular — supporting closer ties with the U.K.

The study, conducted in the wake of the U.S. election, seeks to provide the latest picture of public opinion on Brexit, more than eight years after the landmark vote.

The release comes days after U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves on Monday talked up renewed relations with Brussels during a trip to convene with her EU counterparts — the first such meeting since Britain officially left the bloc in 2020.

"We no longer live in the world of Brexit. That world came to an end on Nov. 5, 2024," Mark Leonard, ECFR co-founder and foreign policy expert, said during an event in London to announce the findings.

"There is a striking and widely-held desire on both sides of the channel to get closer together," he added.

The survey — which polled more than 9,000 people across the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain — showed a particular willingness for both sides to cooperate more closely on trade and security.

In the U.K., the majority of respondents said they saw improved ties as assisting with their key priorities around migration, security and the economy. Meanwhile, respondents in Europe said they were open to granting the U.K. "special access" to the EU single market and access to the bloc's research programs in exchange for greater security cooperation.

Both sides also expressed a willingness to consider free movement of people in exchange for stronger economic ties.

Trump's Nov. 5 election has added to a sense of unease in Europe, particularly around national security and the impact of potential tariffs, with the president-elect previously warning that the EU could be subject to new trade levies to address the significant trade imbalance.

The U.K., meanwhile, which has a far smaller trade imbalance with the U.S., may be hoping that its "special relationship" across the Atlantic — and Trump's affinity for Brexit — are enough to spare it from the most punitive of measures.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former prime minister of Denmark and ECFR board trustee, told CNBC that it was expected — and in the U.K.'s interest — to pursue "as close a relationship with the U.S. as possible." But she said that should not preclude close ties with the EU, too.

"If we're looking for a reset, this is a good time," she said, noting that the current backdrop could actually improve the U.K.'s position when seeking improved relations with the EU. "This is a time where there is perhaps leverage (for the U.K.) to ask for a bit more."

Thorning-Schmidt, who was prime minister between 2011 to 2015, acknowledged, however, that there could be some "binary" choices ahead as both sides seek to position themselves under a Trump presidency.

"If there are tariffs coming our way, do we retaliate? Is that an answer?" Thorning-Schmidt said.

"If we are asked to align more with the U.S. in terms of their China policy, that could be a binary choice as well," she continued.

"And if the U.K. is somehow forced to choose between the U.S. and EU — which I don't think they will — that's perhaps a binary choice."