Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests

The report by the European Council on Foreign Relations also found growing pragmatism about European self-defence. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

European confidence in an American “security guarantee” has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, with only one in 10 people across 15 countries seeing the US as an ally and majorities in all doubting it would come to their aid if they were attacked.

The survey, published on Wednesday by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) thinktank before critical G7 and Nato summits in France and Turkey over the coming weeks, revealed “deep European distrust in the US”, the authors said.