U.S President-elect, Donald Trump’s relationship with his European peers was rocky for much of his first term.
Since then, he has said he would not defend European allies unless they spend more on their own defence, has expressed scepticism about the scale of US support for Ukraine, and has proposed tariffs on imports that would hurt European manufacturers.
His election is a new source of anxiety at a time when Europe is already grappling with weakness in its two biggest powers, Germany, whose government just broke apart, and France, where President Emmanuel Macron lost his party’s majority in parliament.
As such, it isn’t surprising that European leaders gathered in the shadow of Trump’s election victory, calling for stronger action to defend themselves and back Ukraine.
Addressing the gathering, Macron said that Trump’s victory was a “historic” and “decisive moment indeed” for Europe. He told the European leaders they must not “delegate forever our security to America.”
“He was elected by the American people. He will defend the American interests.
“The question is whether we are willing to defend the European interest. It is the only question. It is our priority.”
Emmanuel Macron
Charles Michel, the EU Council President, agreed with Macron’s statement and said the continent needed to become less reliant on the US for its affairs.
“We have to be more masters of our destiny. Not because of Donald Trump or [US Vice President] Kamala Harris, but because of our children.”
Charles Michel
European Commission Chief, Ursula von der Leyen and other leaders spoke about the importance of continuing to support Ukraine against Russia, remarks clearly aimed as much at Trump as at the other Europeans in the hall. “It is in all our interests that the autocrats of this world get a very clear message that there is not the right of might, that the rule of law is important,” she said.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that it was “time to wake up from our geopolitical naivety and to realise that we need to commit additional resources in order to be able to address major challenges.” “It is a [question of] competitiveness and a European defence,” he said.
According to Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, “There was agreement that Europe should take more responsibility for securing peace and safety.” “To put this more bluntly, we cannot wait for the Americans to protect us,” he added.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, who was the Netherlands Prime Minister during Trump’s presidency between 2017 and 2021, said that Trump was “extremely clear about what he wants.” “He understands that you have to deal with each other to come to joint positions. And I think we can do that,” he said, adding, however, that he considered Russia a threat to the continent.
Quick Solution To Be Ukraine’s Loss
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warm words to say about Trump. However, he took issue with the incoming President’s assertion that Russia’s war with Ukraine could be ended in a day.
“If it is going to be very fast, it will be a loss for Ukraine. I simply don’t understand it any other way for now. Maybe there’s something we don’t know or see. It happens. A little time is needed.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
During the campaign, Trump said he could end the war in Ukraine, now well into its third year, in a single day.
Ukraine and many of its European backers fear that this means a peace on terms favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin and involving the surrender of territory.
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