“My first feeling is that we are facing a challenge. When you are head of government, you must not worry, you must respond to situations that may arise,” was prime minister ’s (CSV) reaction on Wednesday 6 November to the election of . “Europe knows Donald Trump because he has already been president, but I note that the United States has remained a partner. It wasn’t always a comfortable partner, admittedly, but other presidents too in the past have looked inwards more than outwards, so it’s a challenge we have to respond to and I think the best response to this challenge is to strengthen European cooperation in economic, security terms.”
The volume of trade between Luxembourg and the United States, import and export combined, is in the region of €25bn. The United States is Luxembourg’s leading economic partner outside the European Union. “Personally, I’m very fond of the United States, a country that is very close to my heart. The American people, in a democratic choice, have chosen their president. It’s great that the people can express themselves, something that doesn’t exist in China, Russia or elsewhere, and I think we have to respect that choice and work with president Trump to move forward together on the issues that are important to Europeans. What matters are our values, our principles and our interests, and as far as I am concerned, I will ensure that the principles, interests and values in which we believe and which we defend are defended in these discussions.”
Strengthening the EU
Luc Frieden therefore “congratulated Donald Trump. This is a clear election result for the American people, who have chosen Donald Trump as their future president. It is a result that we must and will respect. The United States and Luxembourg share common values and a longstanding common history, so we hope that these relations can be strengthened at both bilateral and transatlantic levels. As head of the Luxembourg government, I will work hard to ensure that this happens, because I believe it is essential, both for security reasons and from an economic point of view, since the United States is one of our main economic partners. Many jobs in Luxembourg depend on the American economy. We will ensure that these relations remain excellent relations, and we will strengthen them where we can.”
“We hope that the United States will continue to see Europe as an important partner, but as Europeans we must be aware that the United States will not always be there to help us. When it comes to energy, security, economic and competitiveness issues, we must try to become stronger, and we will only be stronger if we continue to strengthen the EU.”
This article was originally published in .