BUDAPEST: The leaders of the European Union convened in Budapest on Thursday to jointly respond to the possible threats from Donald Trump’s presidency.
Germany did not attend the gendering due to a deepening political crisis. The United Kingdom, Turkey, NATO chief Mark Rutte and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy were also present on the occasion. The meeting of the European Political Community will be followed by a summit of the 27-nation bloc.
“The future of Europe is in our hands,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said “We’ve shown that Europe can take responsibility by standing together,” she said.
Europe’s security challenges, war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, migration, international trade and economic security were the issues on the agenda of the meeting.
“This is a decisive moment in history for us Europeans,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in his opening remarks.
Though Macron’s tone was aggressive, however, he has been weakened by political troubles inside the country. Meanwhile, the collapse of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition overnight has sparked uncertainty at a critical time for Europe.
The most important challenge to Europe after Trump’s return to the White House is that he could upend European security and stop American support to Ukraine.
Macron in his remarks urged the continent to stop its dependence on the United States and defend its interests over those of geopolitical rivals. “We must not delegate forever our security to America,” he said.
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Ukraine expatiations from Trump
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, in his address, stated that Kyiv was still counting on US engagement as well as a strong Europe to counter Russia.
“We do hope that America will become stronger. This is the kind of America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs. This is the connection between allies that must be valued and cannot be lost,” Zelenskyy said.
NATO chief Mark Rutte in his remarks tried to convince Trump to keep supporting Ukraine, adding that North Korea’s involvement in the conflict and the transfer of Russian weapons technology to Pyongyang threatened the interest of the United States directly.
“I look forward to sitting down with Donald Trump to discuss how we can face these threats collectively,” said the alliance’s new leader.
Orban adopts restrained tone
Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who is one of Trump’s rare close allies in the EU hosted the Budapest meetings. During his speech, Orban adopted a restrained tone as he joined calls for European unity.
Meanwhile in #Budapest, Roberta Metsola @EP_President participated to the European Political Community summit and met with @JakovMilatovic 🇲🇪 and @VjosaOsmaniPRKS 🇽🇰
🔗 Download more content: https://t.co/sIKwNnQoYN pic.twitter.com/oW1SU3R4mX
— European Parliament Audiovisual Service (@europarlAV) November 7, 2024
The EU summit on Friday will focus on addressing the risk of the dangerously falling economy of Europe behind the United States and China rivalry. “The Europeans really have a knife at their throat,” said political analyst Sebastien Maillard, from the Jacques Delors Institute.
“I don’t think they really prepared for this,” said Guntram Wolff of the Bruegel think tank. “There is no fully discussed plan on what to do now – at the EU level, but also at the Franco-German level,” he said. – AFP
