On February 28, 2017, French President François Hollande attends the opening ceremony of the new high-speed railway “Sud Europe Atlantique” (South Europe Atlantique) connecting Tours and Bordeaux in Vilognon, central France, and gives a speech.
Johan Bonnet | AFP | Getty Images
Former French President Francois Hollande stressed the importance of Europe coming together in the face of US protectionism on issues such as security and trade.
The impending economic nightmare for the European Union comes after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s election threatened to impose 10% tariffs on EU countries. Concerns are growing.
The move comes at a time when Germany, a traditional economic powerhouse, is grappling with an economic downturn and political vacuum following the collapse of the coalition government. There are also concerns about the war in Ukraine and whether the U.S. will be able to extract funds to the war-torn country, with European allies footing the bill.
President Hollande told CNBC’s Charlotte Reid on Wednesday that Europe must be concerned.
“Europe today is a continent that is not unified, so what will absolutely be important is the response to what President Trump wants to do, especially the United States’ withdrawal from the European continent,” he said.
“This is what France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom do, the four major countries that invest in defense. If those four countries react together, both on security issues, on Ukraine issues, and even on trade issues, “If we do that, then Europe will be respected. Otherwise, Europe will be sidelined,” he added.
Despite significant political instability in Germany and France this year, President Hollande said there may still be a “broad political consensus” in these major European countries, no matter who is in charge. and that it could “adamantly resist anything Donald Trump might undertake,” he said.
Peace in Ukraine?
Hollande, France’s former Socialist Party leader, led the country from 2012 to 2017, briefly replacing President Trump during his first term. Trump recalled that he was often a man of his word.
President Trump has previously boasted that if elected, he could “end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours” and said he would cut off funding to force the country into a negotiated settlement with Russia. It was hinting. Analysts say that in that case, Ukraine could be forced into a “bad peace” with its powerful neighbor, forcing it to give up almost 20% of its southern and eastern territory currently occupied by Russian forces. states that it is possible.
President Hollande said President Trump would try to offer Russian President Vladimir Putin a peace plan that would exclude Ukraine from negotiations, potentially allowing Russia to seize territory it already occupied. I predicted that there would be.
“Are we going to allow that? We cannot let that happen,” President Hollande said. “That would set a very serious precedent that force would trump the law.”
—CNBC’s Silvia Amaro and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this article.
