Survey Shows 71% in Polled EU Countries Would Welcome an EU Army

The figure comes from GLOBSEC Trends 2026, a transatlantic study fielded by HarrisX between May 11 and 19 among 13,730 respondents in 14 countries. Eleven were EU members. The United Kingdom, the United States and Ukraine were also polled.

Support for an EU army was a majority in every EU country surveyed. It peaked in Romania at 82%, followed by Lithuania at 78% and France at 75%. Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Bulgaria were all at 70% or higher.

Backing Is Strongest on the Eastern Flank

In Germany, 69% agreed the EU should have its own army. The lowest shares were still majorities: 66% in Slovakia, 63% in Hungary and 61% in Czechia.

GLOBSEC said support tends to be stronger along the eastern flank and in France, where President Emmanuel Macron has championed greater European defense autonomy. The 71% figure is an unweighted average, so each polled country counts equally regardless of population.

NATO Support Holds Alongside the Push

The result did not translate into a wish to leave NATO. Some 78% of respondents in the EU countries surveyed said the bloc should develop its own defense capabilities alongside the alliance.

In European NATO member states, 78% said they would vote to remain in the alliance; across the NATO countries surveyed, including the United States, the share was 77%. Only 49% of respondents in Europe were confident Europe could ensure its own security without strong U.S. support.

A Standing Force Still Looks Distant

GLOBSEC cautioned that “proposals for a standing European force appear unrealistic for now, given the absence of a command structure and clear lines of authority.” It said the backing instead opens a path to deepen PESCO cooperation or to expand troop deployments on the eastern flank under NATO command.

That gap is the same terrain on which European federalists have pressed EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius for a permanent “28th European Army.” Their plan has not been adopted as EU policy.

The findings were reported on Friday as governments debate how to strengthen European forces amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and uncertainty over the U.S. commitment to NATO.

Public Backing Softens on the Cost

Across the European NATO members surveyed, support for higher defense spending fell from 61% to 44% if the increase required cuts to healthcare or social security.

Among respondents in countries without compulsory military service, 64% favored its return. The question was not asked in states that already have conscription, or in Ukraine. HarrisX surveyed 1,010 people in each country except Estonia, where the sample was 600, with a country-level margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. POLITICO first reported the finding on Friday.