According to the results of a large-scale survey conducted by the European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR) in 15 European countries, only 11% of nearly 20,000 respondents believe that the US is an ally. This rate has decreased from 16% 6 months ago and from 22% in November 2024.
About half of the survey participants consider the US a "necessary partner", while 25% consider the US an opponent, even an enemy. The proportion of respondents with a negative view of the US has increased in some countries, especially Denmark, France, Spain and Switzerland.
The authors of the policy analysis published the survey results believe that some recent moves by US President Donald Trump may have affected the views of Europeans, including the threat to withdraw the US from NATO, the intention to annex Greenland, the attack on Iran without planning participation with European countries, and the plan to withdraw US troops from Europe.
In all surveyed countries, the majority of respondents said they did not believe the US would support them if their country was attacked.
Most respondents also believe that the government should buy more weapons from European countries and develop its own nuclear deterrent mechanism, not depending on the US.
Across the continent, there is clear support for reducing dependence on Washington," shared Jana Kobzová, co-author of the report and senior expert at ECFR.
However, the survey also shows that many Europeans believe that relations between Europe and the US may improve after the end of Mr. Donald Trump's term as US President.
ECFR surveyed 19,481 people in May 2026 in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
