Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests

The report by the European Council on Foreign Relations also found growing pragmatism about European self-defence. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters View image in fullscreen The report by the European Council on Foreign Relations also found growing pragmatism about European self-defence. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests Exclusive: poll across 15 countries finds ‘deep mistrust’, with majority doubting US would come to their aid in an attack European confidence in an American “security guarantee” has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, with only one in 10 people across 15 countries seeing the US as an ally and majorities in all doubting it would come to their aid if they were attacked. The survey, published on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank before critical G7 and Nato summits in France and Turkey over the coming weeks, revealed “deep European distrust in the US”, the authors said. It also showed that, while many Europeans felt relations with Washington would improve once Donald Trump leaves office, they were increasingly ready in the meantime to protect themselves against US unreliability by bolstering Europe’s defence. Fewer Europeans now view the US as an ally The US president’s Middle East aggression, threats against Greenland, vows to withdraw troops from European bases and scepticism on the future of Nato had also prompted a growing European pragmatism, the report said. “Across the continent, there’s clear support for reducing dependence on Washington,” said Jana Kobzová, a co-author and ECFR senior policy fellow. “Europeans are increasingly open to higher defence spending and, crucially, show a striking degree of confidence that neighbouring countries would come to their aid in a crisis.” Paweł Zerka, Kobzová’s co-author and also an ECFR senior policy fellow, said clear public demand for greater self-reliance and the need to hedge against US defence guarantees had “created a window for Europe’s leaders to go further and faster” on security. A minority of people in European nations trust the US would defend them if attacked The survey, based on polling carried out in May in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, showed an average of just 11% of respondents across all countries now viewed the US as an ally. That compared with 16% six months ago, and 22% in November 2024. The prevailing view was that the US was now a “necessary partner”, although 13% of the European public said they considered the US a rival and 12% a direct adversary. Majorities in every country were no longer confident the US would come to their aid in an attack. Except in Bulgaria, most people – including in countries with large far-right parties such as France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden – believed “at least some European countries” would hel