A survey conducted in 15 European countries shows a deep mistrust in the United States. Only one in ten people considers the USA an ally, with the majority of respondents stating that they do not believe Americans would come to their aid in case of an attack.
The research also indicates a historic low in trust in American security guarantees and an increasing support for strengthening European defense, as reported by The Guardian.
The survey, published on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank, ahead of critical G7 and NATO summits in France and Turkey in the coming weeks, highlights "a deep distrust of Europeans in the USA," the authors said.
The report shows that although many Europeans believe that relations with Washington could improve after the departure of Donald Trump from the White House, they are increasingly willing to strengthen their own defense to protect themselves from a possible lack of predictability from the USA.
The aggressive policies of the American president in the Middle East, threats regarding Greenland, the intention to withdraw troops from European bases, and skepticism about the future of NATO have fueled a growing pragmatism in Europe.
"Throughout the continent, there is clear support for reducing dependence on Washington," said Jana Kobzová, co-author of the study and senior researcher at ECFR. "Europeans are increasingly open to increasing defense spending and, importantly, show a surprisingly high level of confidence that neighboring countries would come to their aid in a crisis."
The co-author of the report, Paweł Zerka, stated that the increasingly clear public demand for strategic autonomy and the need to compensate for potential weaknesses in American security guarantees have "created a window of opportunity for European leaders to act more quickly and ambitiously in the field of security."
The survey, conducted from April 30 to May 12 in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, shows that on average, only 11% of respondents still consider the USA an ally.
This percentage was 16% six months ago and 22% in November 2024. The prevailing opinion is that the United States is now more of a "necessary partner," but 13% of Europeans consider them a "rival," and 12% a "direct adversary."
In all countries, the majority of people no longer believe that the USA would intervene to defend them in case of an attack. With the exception of Bulgaria, most respondents – including in countries with strong far-right parties like France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden – believe that "at least some European countries" would come to their aid in a similar scenario.
Europeans, on average, are 4% more inclined than last year to support increasing national defense spending, with Italy being the only country where a clear majority remains opposed.
On average, 47% of respondents support the idea of a common EU loan for defense financing, while 35% oppose it. Support is highest in Portugal (59%), Denmark (56%), the Netherlands (55%), and Spain.
In almost all analyzed countries, the majority of respondents believe that their countries should reduce their strategic dependence on American military equipment. Support for the "buy European" idea is higher in Denmark (75%), the Netherlands (72%), Sweden (70%), Portugal (69%), France (66%), Switzerland (64%), the UK, and Spain (62% each).
However, there is less support for reducing other domestic public expenditures in favor of defense, with stronger opposition in Italy (63%), Austria (59%), Germany (56%), Spain (54%), and Denmark (52%).
Also, only 29% of respondents support replacing NATO with an exclusively European defense structure. In most countries, the prevailing opinion is that transatlantic relations will improve after Trump's departure, a view shared by over 60% of respondents in France, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Despite high energy costs, 44% of Europeans consider resuming imports of oil and gas from Russia to be a "rather bad" or "very bad" idea.
Regarding Ukraine, Europeans' opinions remain divided on joining the EU, including in countries like Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, Germany, and even Estonia, where opposition to accession in the current context is stronger than support.