The European Council on Foreign Relations published a survey on European attitudes toward the United States in May 2025. The survey found that an average of 11 percent of respondents across 15 European countries view the U.S. as an ally.

This percentage has decreased from 16 percent six months prior to the survey and 22 percent in November 2024. Half of the respondents consider the U.S. a necessary partner, while 25 percent view it as a rival or an adversary. Majorities in every polled country also indicated a lack of confidence that the U.S. would provide military aid if their country were to be attacked.

Most respondents in each country, with the exception of Bulgaria, believe that at least some European nations would provide aid in an attack scenario. Consequently, support for higher national defense spending increased by an average of 4 percentage points compared to the previous year. Italy was the only polled country where a majority opposed higher national defense spending.

An average of 47 percent of respondents supported collective European Union borrowing to finance greater defense spending, while 35 percent opposed this measure. In all but one polled country, majorities stated their country should reduce strategic dependence on U.S. military hardware. Support for purchasing European military hardware was highest in Denmark at 75 percent, followed by the Netherlands at 72 percent, and Sweden at 70 percent.

According to ECFR senior policy fellow Jana Kobzová, there is visible support across Europe for reducing reliance on Washington. She said that Europeans are increasingly open to higher defense spending and also believe that neighboring countries would provide assistance in a crisis. A majority in nearly every country except Bulgaria also believes U.S.-European relations will likely improve after Donald Trump leaves office.

At least 60 percent of respondents in France, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden share this belief regarding future U.S.-European relations. Additionally, 29 percent of respondents support replacing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a new European Union-only defense body. Overall, 19,481 respondents were surveyed across Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.

No independent assessment was available for this report.