71% of Europeans back an EU army in GLOBSEC survey, while 77% also want to stay in NATO

Most people in Europe favour the European Union having an army of its own. Polling in the 2026 Trends report by the security think tank GLOBSEC found that 71% of Europeans surveyed want the EU to have its own army.

Support varies by country. Among member states it is highest in Romania at 82%, followed by Lithuania at 78% and France at 75%.

Majorities backed the idea even in countries traditionally wary of European defence integration. Some 70% of respondents in Poland and Bulgaria supported an EU army, alongside 69% in Germany.

GLOBSEC surveyed respondents in 14 countries across the transatlantic space, including 11 EU member states as well as Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The enthusiasm for European military capability did not appear to be a rebuke of NATO. Some 77% of respondents in the NATO countries surveyed said they would vote to remain members, while 78% of respondents in EU countries supported developing the bloc's own defence capabilities alongside the alliance.

There was also strong support for the most direct form of contribution to national defence. Among respondents in countries without compulsory military service, 64% favoured its reintroduction, with the highest numbers in Czechia, France, Germany and Slovakia.

The survey also revealed a growing transatlantic divide over Washington. More than one-third of respondents across the European countries surveyed now consider the United States a security threat. Around half of respondents in Germany, France and Britain held that view, compared with roughly one-third in Central and Eastern Europe.

Germany was the only country surveyed where a majority regarded Washington as a security threat.

German respondents also stood apart on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Some 40% agreed with the claim that Ukraine's treatment of Russian speakers justified the invasion, while 39% believed the West provoked the war.

Support for Kyiv was also softer in Germany. Just over half considered Ukraine's fight important to German security, while nearly six in 10 would accept Ukrainian territorial concessions in exchange for peace.

The findings come as European governments debate how to strengthen their military capabilities amid Russia's continued aggression and growing uncertainty over the United States' commitment to European security.