Anti-American Sentiment Grows in Europe: Only 1 in 10 View U.S. as an 'Ally'

Only about 1 in 10 Europeans considers the United States an ally, according to a recent public opinion poll.

According to the British daily The Guardian on June 10 (local time), a survey of 19,481 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, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Bulgaria, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Estonia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Poland, France, and Hungary.

Across all surveyed nations, an average of only 11% of respondents currently view the U.S. as an ally.

This figure is a significant decline from 16% six months ago and 22% in November 2024.

Half of the respondents identified the U.S. as a "necessary partner" rather than an ally, while 13% viewed the country as a "competitor" and 12% as a "direct 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 own country were attacked.

The response rate was particularly low in Spain at 12% and Austria at 15%.

On the other hand, in all countries except for Bulgaria (43%), more than 50% of respondents believed that at least some European nations would help them if a similar situation were to occur.

The percentage of respondents supporting an increase in their own country's defense spending rose by 4 percentage points 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 expenditures.

Meanwhile, 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 survey results, Jana Puglierin, a senior policy fellow at the ECFR and co-author of the report, stated, "There is clear support across Europe for reducing dependence on the U.S."

She added, "Europeans are increasingly open to higher defense spending, and crucially, they show a surprisingly high level of trust that their neighbors would help them in a crisis."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.