European leaders meeting in Budapest, Hungary, on Nov.7 have urged President-elect Donald Trump to continue U.S. support for Ukraine and avoid trade wars.
The summit on Thursday is a meeting of the wider European Political Community (EPC), which includes non-EU states such as the UK and Switzerland. It will feature a discussion that the European Commission said is designed to renew the broader continent’s support for Ukraine.
The EPC summit will be followed by an informal meeting of nearly 50 European leaders on Friday to discuss immigration and economic security, with the second topic set to scrutinize foreign investments and discuss more coordinated controls on exports and outflows of technologies to rival economies such as China.
“They know it is in their interest to show firmness when we engage with authoritarian regimes. If the United States were weak with Russia, what would it mean for China?” European Council chief Charles Michel said as he and others arrived in Budapest.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, also commenting on Ukraine, said, “It is in all our interests that the autocrats of this world get a very clear message that is not the right of might, that the rule of law is important.”
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said he was concerned about the prospect of a trade war.
“It should not be allowed to happen,” he said. “Let’s now try to influence the U.S. and Trump’s future policy so that he understands the risks involved.”
“One thing is for sure, Europe is not strong without a strong Germany,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said.
Von der Leyen also said it was now up to the European Union to be united.
“No EU member state on their own can manage the upcoming challenges,” she said.
On Thursday evening, the 27 leaders of the EU nations will also hold talks on relations with the United States, as well as the ongoing situation in Georgia, where the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in a disputed election last month, prompting the EU to freeze the country’s bid to join the bloc.
EU officials hope the outcome of the evening session will be a joint position of congratulating Trump and highlighting the importance of a positive EU–U.S. relationship.
Friday’s meeting will feature a debate on EU competitiveness, including a presentation by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who, at the European Commission’s request, wrote a report on how the EU should keep its economy competitive amid challenges from China and the United States.
His report concluded that the bloc needed an investment of 750 billion to 800 billion euros per year, but some EU countries have taken issue with the idea that these funds should, in part, be drawn from joint EU assets.
Many European leaders have already congratulated Trump on his election victory and said they were looking forward to working with him.
The summit is being hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban because the country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
