Eurobarometer: Europeans perceive growing threat to their security

A new Eurobarometer survey released last Febrauary 13, ahead of the Munich Security Conference, shows Europeans’ growing perception of threat for their countries in the current international situation. The majority of them would also entrust EU with strengthening defence. Investment in this field is also seen as important. EU space programmes are perceived as essential instruments for addressing defence and security, environment and climate and competitiveness.

Perception of threat 

The most notable result is that more than two thirds of Europeans (68%) believe their country is under threat.  Member States with the highest threat perception are France (80%), followed by Netherlands and Denmark (77%), and Cyprus and Germany (75%). At the same time, 42% of citizens believe their personal safety is at risk.

Trust in Europe’s capacity

The majority of Europeans trust the EU to strengthen security and defence (52%), especially in countries like Luxembourg (76%), Portugal (74%), Cyprus (73%) and Lithuania (71%).

Investment in defence

Amid the roll-out of several related initiatives over the past year, nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) approve of the EU’s current level of defence investment or believe that spending should be increased. Support is particularly high in countries such as Lithuania (80%), Portugal (89%), Finland (83%), Spain (80%) and Denmark (78%).

Space is essential for defence and security 

Security and defence is also considered as a key priority for EU space policy, by 53% of Europeans, followed by environment and climate (36%), and competitiveness and growth of European industry (31%). Moreover, EU space programmes’ positive economic impact is widely recognised by youngest respondents (55%).

Background

This Flash Eurobarometer launched at the beginning of January 2026 aimed to gauge EU citizens’ sense of security, their trust in the EU as a defence actor, and their support for increased investment in collective defence. It also assessed awareness of EU space programmes and identified priority areas for future space policy. The results will guide the Commission and support evidence-based policymaking. It included 27,292 interviews across the EU-27.

More information: European Commission