French President Francois Hollande delivers a code arsenic helium attends the inauguration of the caller 'Sud Europe Atlantique' (South Europe Atlantic) high-speed obstruction line, linking Tours and Bordeaux, connected February 28, 2017, successful Villognon, cardinal France.
Yohan Bonnet | AFP | Getty Images
Former French President François Hollande underlined the value of Europe sticking unneurotic successful the look of U.S. protectionism connected issues similar information and trade.
President-elect Donald Trump's predetermination triumph past week has fueled fears of an impending economical nightmare for the European Union aft helium threatened to enforce an further 10% successful tariffs connected these nations.
This would travel astatine a clip erstwhile accepted economical powerhouse Germany is dealing with an economical malaise and a governmental vacuum aft its coalition authorities collapsed. There are besides concerns implicit the Ukraine warfare and whether the U.S. could propulsion backing for the war-torn federation — leaving European allies to ft the bill.
Hollande told CNBC's Charlotte Reed Wednesday that Europe indispensable beryllium worried.
"Europe is contiguous a continent that is not united. So what volition beryllium perfectly indispensable is the absorption to what Trump wants to do, peculiarly the U.S. disengaging from the European continent," helium said.
"This is what France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, the 4 main countries that put successful defense, volition do. If these 4 countries respond together, some successful narration to the information issue, the Ukraine contented and adjacent the commercialized issue, past Europe volition beryllium respected. Otherwise it volition beryllium pushed aside," helium added.
Despite Germany and France seeing important governmental volatility this year, Hollande said determination could inactive beryllium a "broad governmental consensus" successful these large European nations, nary substance who is successful charge, that could "firmly defy what Donald Trump whitethorn undertake."
Ukraine peace?
Hollande, the erstwhile socialist person of France, led the federation betwixt 2012 to 2017 and concisely crossed implicit with Trump's archetypal term. He recalled that Trump was often a antheral of his word.
Trump has antecedently boasted helium could "end the war" successful Ukraine successful 24 hours if elected, signaling that helium would propulsion the plug connected backing successful bid to unit the state into a negotiated colony with Russia. Analysts accidental Ukraine could past beryllium pushed into a "bad peace" with its almighty neighbor, and perchance forced to relinquish astir 20% of its territory successful the southbound and eastbound that's presently occupied by Russian forces.
Hollande predicted that Trump volition effort to suggest a bid with Russian President Vladimir Putin that volition exclude Ukraine from the negotiations, which could perchance let Russia to instrumentality territories it already occupies.
"Are we going to fto it happen? We indispensable not fto it happen," Hollande said. "Because it would acceptable an highly superior precedent wherever unit had prevailed implicit law."
—CNBC's Silvia Amaro and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this article.
English (US)