Half of Europeans believe Berlin has too much influence - survey

German Chancellor Angela Merkel grimaces as she arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

About seven in 10 people across Europe hold a favorable opinion about Germany, even though almost a half of Europeans believe that Berlin has too much influence over the EU decisions, a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center shows.

An average of more than 70 percent of the citizens of nine EU countries surveyed in the study view Germany favorably, while only 21 percent of them hold an unfavorable view of Berlin, the study shows.

At the same time, only slightly more than half of the respondents expressed their confidence in German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ability to handle world affairs, while about 45 percent said they have no faith in her.

Meanwhile, almost half of...