A majority of Europeans favor the deployment of NATO missile defense capabilities to protect the continent from weapons of mass destruction, according to a recent poll.

The poll, jointly sponsored by the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies and the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, found that 71% of those surveyed favored the NATO missile defense capability; 16% disagreed.

Additionally, the poll found, in the aggregate, that 56% of the adults surveyed would support a deployment of such a defensive system in their own country. Specifically, the findings in favor of localized defense were: France (69%), Germany (68%), the U.K. (72%), Spain (54%), Italy (60%), Poland (84%), the Czech Republic (62%), the Netherlands (63%) and Denmark (44%).

Other findings:

-- 26% rated the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as the most significant threat facing Europe compared to 52% who said violent acts by terrorists groups pose the greatest threat.

-- Only 3% saw China's growing military power as a threat, compared to 5% concerned with Iran's nuclear ascendancy or 3% concerned with North Korea's ability to acquire or export nuclear technology.

-- 75% said ballistic missiles with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons could be used as instruments of blackmail or coercion against NATO or NATO countries.

"The poll results strongly demonstrate that Europeans are concerned about the threat posed by ballistic missiles potentially armed with weapons of mass destruction," said Riki Ellison, president of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that advocates missile defense.

The poll was conducted by the polling firm of Novatris/Harris with a margin error rate of +/- 2.9% in France, Germany, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Denmark.