French President Francois Hollande speaks at the inauguration of the new ‘Sud Europe Atlantique’ (South Europe Atlantic) high-speed rail line connecting Tours and Bordeaux in Valignon, central France, on February 28, 2017.
Yohan Bonnet | AFP | Getty Images
Former French President Francois Hollande stressed the importance of Europe staying together in the face of US protectionism on issues such as security and trade.
President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory last week has fueled fears of an impending economic nightmare for the European Union after he threatened to impose additional 10 percent tariffs on those countries.
It will come at a time when traditional economic powerhouse Germany is dealing with an economic downturn and political vacuum following the collapse of its coalition government. There are also concerns over the war in Ukraine and whether the US could pull funding for the war-torn country – leaving European allies to foot the bill.
Hollande told CNBC’s Charlotte Reid on Wednesday that Europe should be concerned.
“Europe today is a continent that is not united. So what will be absolutely important is what Trump wants to do, especially the response of the United States to the separation of the European continent,” he said.
“France, Germany, Poland and the UK, the four main countries that invest in defence, will do the same. If these four countries react together, both on security issues, on the Ukraine issue and even on trade issues. I, then Europe will be respected or pushed aside.
Despite significant political upheaval in Germany and France this year, Hollande said there could still be a “broad political consensus” in those major European nations, regardless of who is in charge, that “Donald Trump’s actions can strongly resist.”
Ukraine peace?
France’s former socialist leader Hollande led the nation from 2012 to 2017 and briefly crossed paths with Trump’s first term. He recalled that Trump was often a man of his word.
Trump has previously boasted that if elected he could “end the war” in Ukraine in 24 hours, hinting that he would cut funding to force the country into a negotiated settlement with Russia. Will stop. Analysts say Ukraine could then be pushed into a “broken peace” with its powerful neighbor, potentially forcing it to give up about 20 percent of its territory in the south and east. It is currently occupied by Russian forces.
Hollande predicted that Trump would try to make a peace proposal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that would exclude Ukraine from the talks, potentially allowing Russia to seize territories that It is already occupied.
“Will we let it happen? We must not let it happen,” Hollande said. “Because it would set a very serious precedent where might prevailed over law.”
—CNBC’s Silvia Amaro and Holly Elliott contributed to this article.
