European trust in America falls to historic low

Only 11% of Europeans across 15 countries now view the United States as an ally, marking a historic low and a sharp decline from 16% six months ago and 22% in November 2024, says a survey published on June 10 by the European Council on Foreign Relations.

The findings, released ahead of upcoming G7 and NATO summits, underscore growing skepticism across Europe about Washington’s reliability as a security partner. Majorities in all surveyed countries expressed doubts that the United States would come to their defence in the event of an attack.

The survey also found increasing support for strengthening Europe’s own defence capabilities. Europeans were four percentage points more likely than a year ago to support higher national defence spending, with Italy standing out as the only country where a clear majority remains opposed.

Across the region, 47% of respondents backed the idea of collective European Union borrowing to finance defence initiatives. Support was strongest in Portugal, where 59% favored the proposal, followed by Denmark at 56% and the Netherlands at 55%.

Most respondents also favored reducing dependence on U.S. military equipment in favor of European-made alternatives. Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden recorded the strongest support for a “buy European” approach to defence procurement.

Poland was the only country where a majority supported increasing purchases of American weapons, while public opinion in Germany, Italy and Hungary was more divided on the issue.

At the same time, resistance to reducing domestic public spending in order to fund higher defence budgets remains significant. Opposition to such cuts was strongest in Italy, where 63% were against the idea, followed by Austria at 59% and Germany at 56%.

On energy policy, 44% of Europeans opposed resuming oil and gas imports from Russia despite concerns about rising energy costs.

The survey also found that most respondents continue to regard Ukraine as either an ally or a strategic partner. However, support was less consistent when it came to deploying peacekeeping forces to Ukraine after the war or expanding EU membership further eastward.

In a further indication of public sentiment toward Washington, majorities in every country surveyed except Bulgaria said they expected U.S.-European relations to improve once U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office.

The poll was conducted in May 2026 by research firms including Mandate Research and YouGov among adults aged 18 and older in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

By Vafa Guliyeva