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A recent opinion poll shows that only about one in 10 Europeans considers the United States an ally.
According to the British daily The Guardian on June 10 (local time), a survey of approximately 20,000 Europeans conducted last month by the think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) revealed deep-seated distrust toward the U.S.
The survey was conducted across 15 countries: the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Estonia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Poland, France, and Hungary.
Across all surveyed countries, only an average of 11% of respondents viewed the U.S. as an ally.
This figure has dropped significantly from 16% six months ago and 22% in the November 2024 survey.
Half of the respondents perceived the U.S. as a "necessary partner" rather than an ally, while 13% viewed it as a "competitor" and 12% as an "adversary."
Furthermore, in all surveyed countries, less than half of the respondents were confident that the U.S. would come to their aid if their country were attacked.
The confidence levels were particularly low in Spain (12%) and Austria (15%).
On the other hand, in all countries except Bulgaria (43%), more than 50% of respondents believed that at least some European nations would help them if a similar crisis occurred.
The percentage of respondents supporting an increase in their own country's defense spending rose by 4 percentage points (p) from 18% in November of last year to 22%.
Additionally, 47% supported the idea of issuing joint bonds at the European Union (EU) level to fund defense spending.
Regarding the relationship between the U.S. and Europe, a majority of respondents in 14 out of the 15 countries—with the exception of Bulgaria—believed that relations would "likely improve" once President Trump leaves office.
Commenting on the poll results, Jana Puglierin, a senior policy fellow at the ECFR and co-author of the report, explained, "There is a clear consensus across Europe that the continent needs to reduce its reliance on the U.S."
She added, "Europeans are increasingly open to higher defense spending and, crucially, show a surprisingly high level of trust that their neighbors would come to their aid in a crisis."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.