Spain leads Europe’s shift away from Donald Trump’s US

People in Spain are leading the charge for a stronger, independent Europe amid widespread wariness of Donald Trump’s America, according to a new POLITICO survey.

In a poll of people in six EU countries in March, a majority of Spanish respondents — 51 percent — said Washington poses a “threat” to Europe, the largest proportion of all the countries polled. The results also revealed strong Spanish opposition to President Trump’s foreign policies and the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran.

Spain’s respondents stood out for their wholesale support for Europe to increase its autonomy. Ninety-four percent said the continent needs to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on other major powers — even if that shift comes with major economic costs.

People in Spain also indicated a broad willingness to rush to the defense of an EU country under attack from a foreign power, and large backing for a European army.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has stood out as the U.S. president’s chief critic in Europe and an outspoken opponent of the war in Iran. After Madrid banned the U.S. from using jointly operated military bases or the country’s airspace to carry out attacks in the Middle East, Trump issued an ultimately empty threat to cut commercial ties with Spain.

The European Pulse survey, conducted by Cluster17 for POLITICO and beBartlet, polled 6,698 Europeans across Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Belgium from March 13 to March 21.

Fifty-six percent of people in Spain said they strongly disapprove of the U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran and 43 percent said Madrid should publicly oppose the military operation and push for an end to the conflict. Only Italian respondents indicated stronger opposition.

Of the six countries polled, respondents in Spain were least in favor of remaining neutral and staying out of the conflict (22 percent). Nineteen percent of Spanish respondents said Madrid should provide troops, logistical support or access to its bases, while 16 percent favored diplomatic or political support.

The strongest backing for active involvement in the conflict came from respondents who identified as supporters of the far-right Vox party, 59 percent of whom expressed support for military support to the U.S.-Israeli operation. The survey was conducted before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday night.

Strong support for European autonomy

While Spanish poll respondents just pipped the Belgians to being the most enthusiastic in calling for greater European autonomy (at 94 percent compared to 93 percent), the concept was backed by 87 percent of respondents across the six countries, reflecting widespread concern about the continent’s vulnerability to decisions made by other global powers.

Spain ranked among the three EU countries with the largest shares of respondents calling for Europe to produce the energy it consumes, invest more in infrastructure that can reinforce its energy autonomy, and develop European energy companies capable of competing globally.

More than 96 percent of Spanish respondents backed those measures, and more than half expressed strong support for Europe’s transition to renewable energy, which currently generates nearly 60 percent of the country’s power.

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, speaks during a press conference following the extraordinary Council of Ministers at Moncloa Palace in Madrid on March 20 2026. | Gutierrez Guillermo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Spain is also the country whose inhabitants were most willing to go to war in defense of a fellow EU member. Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they would back deploying the Spanish army in support of any member country attacked by a foreign power, just ahead of Belgium and Poland, both on 86 percent.

A majority of Spaniards called for Europe to develop its own defense capabilities, and the country ranked second (77 percent) only to Belgians (83 percent) in expressing support for the creation of an EU army.

Sánchez last year proposed the bloc form a military force “under a single flag with the same objectives” in order to “become a true union and guarantee a lasting peace in Europe.”

Despite the strong support for action on European defense, domestically people in Spain stood out as those most opposed to reintroducing mandatory military service. More than half of Spanish respondents rejected the restoration of “la mili,” which Madrid phased out in 2001.

That anti-militarist spirit was also reflected in respondents’ reactions to a hypothetical scenario in which Spain was attacked by a foreign power. While 51 percent said they would be willing to defend the country in a noncombat role involving logistics, medical aid or civil protection, only 17 percent said they would be willing to take up arms in the country’s defense.

The European Pulse was conducted by Cluster17 for POLITICO and beBartlet from March 13 to 21, surveying 6,698 adults online, with at least 1,000 respondents each from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. Results for each country were weighted to be representative on dimensions including age, gender and geography.