European leaders expressed unity and a willingness to work with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during the European Political Community summit on Thursday.
Here's a look at what the European heads said about Trump—who many have already worked alongside during the Republican's first presidential term from 2017 to 2021—and the U.S. November 5 election, in which Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's candidate.
French President Emmanuel Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron told other leaders at Thursday's summit that Trump "was elected by the American people. He will defend the American interests."
Macron added that it was not the role of European Union (EU) leaders to "comment on the election...to wonder if it is good or not."
"The question is whether we are willing to defend the European interest. It is the only question. It is our priority," Macron said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—who the Biden-Harris administration has strongly supported during its ongoing war against invading Russia—told reporters in Budapest, Hungary's capital where Thursday's summit is being held, that he had a "good, productive conversation" with Trump via telephone Wednesday night.
"Of course, we cannot yet know what his specific actions will be. But we hope that America will become stronger. This is the kind of America Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs. This is the bond between allies that should be valued and must not be lost," he said.
Trump said during his campaign that if he was elected, he would end the Russia-Ukraine war—which began when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded the eastern European country in February 2022—in one day. Ukraine and many of its European supporters fear that this means a resolution favorable to Putin that involves giving up Ukrainian territory.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a staunch Trump supporter who has been in power for 14 years, said early Thursday that he talked with the president-elect overnight and that "we have big plans for the future!"
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the "deep and historic strategic partnership that has always tied Rome and Washington."
NATO Chief Mark Rutte
During Trump's first term, he strongly pushed the European member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to spend more on defense, up to and beyond 2 percent of the countries' gross domestic product, and to be less reliant on the U.S. to foot the bill.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said that Trump "was the one in NATO who stimulated us to move over the 2 percent. And now, also thanks to him, NATO, if you take out the numbers of the U.S., is above the 2 percent."
Rutte, who was the Dutch prime minister during Trump's first term, said: "I worked with him very well for four years. He is extremely clear about what he wants. He understands that you have to deal with each other to come to joint positions. And I think we can do that."
The NATO chief insisted that Russia's actions in the Ukraine war don't just affect Europe but also the U.S.
"Russia is delivering the latest technology into North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine. And this is a threat not only to the European part of NATO, but also to the U.S. mainland," he said at the summit.
Moscow has not commented on the presence of North Korean troops in Russia nor has it commented on whether Russia was helping North Korea develop military technology.
European Council President Charles Michel
Charles Michel, the council president of the EU, said he thinks Europe needs to become less reliant on the U.S.
"We have to be more masters of our destiny," Michel said. "Not because of Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, but because of our children."
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis shared his support for European countries to contribute more resources to defense.
He said it was "time to wake up from our geopolitical naivete and to realize that we need to commit additional resources in order to be able to address major challenges. It is a [question of] competitiveness and a European defense."
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof
Trump took a more isolationist approach during his campaign. One memorable moment was when he threatened to withdraw support from NATO countries that did not pay their dues during a rally in South Carolina in February. He also said during the rally that he would "encourage" countries like Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to member states of the military alliance.
The current Dutch prime minister, Dick Schoof, said, "Of course [Trump] said a lot of things during the campaign," adding that they won't all appear in his official policies as the next president.
"Transatlantic cooperation is of the utmost importance both for the U.S. and European interests," he said.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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