To be respected by Trump, Europe must stop being 'weak and defeatist', Macron says

euronews (in English)

The European Union came out of the first Trump presidency stronger and must continue to become more independent, the French president told his top diplomats.

Transcript

00:00French President Emmanuel Macron extended an olive branch to U.S. President-elect Donald

00:06Trump days before his inauguration, declaring France a solid ally as he outlined his vision

00:12for global diplomacy in 2025. Macron emphasized France's commitments to fostering cooperation

00:18while urging European nations to fortify their unity and resilience, saying there was little

00:23chance of being respected by the U.S. if they decided to be weak and defeatist.

00:27President Trump knows that he has a solid ally in France, an ally that he does not underestimate,

00:32who has clear views, who believes in Europe, who has confidence in him, who carries an

00:36ambition for the transatlantic relationship, but a lucid ambition. I will have the opportunity

00:41to come back to this by looking very clearly at the fact that since 2011, successive American

00:46presidents have all told us the same thing. Their priority is first the United States

00:51of America, then the relationship with China. Europe has another rank, another place.

01:01Macron's speech laid out France's foreign policy priorities, spanning the war in Ukraine,

01:06European defense and the Middle East. He said as Europeans, we cannot let Russia win in Ukraine,

01:12adding that there would not be an easy or rapid solution in the region. However,

01:16he also warned that Ukraine needed to have realistic discussions on territorial issues,

01:21urging he for the first time to consider territorial concessions.

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