Trump has driven European trust in the U.S. to an all-time low — The Guardian
The level of trust among European citizens in U.S. security guarantees has plummeted, reaching its lowest point in recorded history.
Currently, only one in ten Europeans considers the United States a reliable ally.
This is evidenced by the results of a recent large-scale study conducted by the authoritative think tank European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) ahead of the important G7 and NATO summits.
The authors of the published report officially stated that the results clearly demonstrate “Europeans’ deep distrust of the U.S.”
Public opinion on the continent has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. According to the poll, only 11% of respondents expressed the belief that Washington is a full-fledged ally for their countries.
By comparison: just six months ago, this figure stood at 16%, and in November 2024, it was recorded at 22%.
Currently, European citizens are most likely to view the United States as a “necessary partner,” but by no means as a close strategic ally.
At the same time, 13% of respondents called the U.S. a rival, and another 12% of survey participants openly consider the country a direct adversary of Europe.
In most of the countries where the survey was conducted, respondents expressed serious doubt that Washington would come to the rescue promptly in the event of a potential military attack.
Instead, the civilian population of European countries now relies much more on military and political support from other neighboring European nations.
Sociologists have observed similar sentiments even in regions where right-wing political forces traditionally hold strong positions—specifically in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Against this backdrop, public support for significantly increasing national defense spending is growing rapidly.
On average, Europeans are 4% more likely to support allocating additional funding to the national defense sector than they were a year ago.
Additionally, 47% of respondents approved of the introduction of joint financial borrowing within the EU to cover current defense needs.
Residents of Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain showed the greatest support for such an initiative.
At the same time, in most European countries, citizens called for a maximum reduction in dependence on military equipment imports from the United States.
This was reported by The Guardian.
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