Europeans' trust in the United States has nosedived since Donald Trump became president, with the vast majority unable to call Washington an ally, according to a survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations, or ECFR.
The independent think tank that aims to promote a stronger Europe found in its polling that the continent that saw the US as a liberator after World War II now sees it as an unreliable partner and a good reason to boost self-reliance.
The aspiration for self-reliance has increased support for higher national defense spending across Europe by 4 percent, the survey found, with most respondents favoring purchases of homegrown weapons, not those made in the US.
Jana Kobzova, a co-author of the report and senior policy fellow at the ECFR, told The Guardian newspaper: "Across the continent, there's clear support for reducing dependence on Washington. Europeans are increasingly open to higher defense spending and, crucially, show a striking degree of confidence that neighboring countries would come to their aid in a crisis."
The ECFR poll questioned almost 20,000 adults in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom during May, and found only 11 percent view the US as an ally.
