(Bloomberg) -- Europe needs to strengthen its autonomy and improve its competitiveness following the reelection of Donald Trump, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
“When I look at what’s happening in the US from Europe’s point of view, I think it emphasizes the need to work very hard to support our strategic autonomy and make sure that the European economy becomes more competitive,” the premier told Bloomberg Television at the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan.
Mitsotakis said a first call with President-elect Trump on Monday was “friendly.” There was already a sense of urgency that Europe is lagging behind even before last week’s US vote, according to Mitsotakis.
“I think we will address this question with a renewed sense of urgency now,” he added, calling on Europe to move “from words to action.”
European Union leaders have been mulling how to improve the bloc’s ailing competitiveness to better compete with the US and China. The need to increase public and private funding is one of the thorniest issues, with the bloc facing an annual investment gap of as much as €800 billion ($862 billion), according to a report drafted by former ECB president Mario Draghi.
The discussion has become more urgent following Trump’s victory as his return to the White House might also see a protections turn from the world’s biggest economy.
Still, the Greek premier sees room for cooperation with the new US administration, saying that he doesn’t believe in tariffs.
“I think a trade war would be bad for both the US and Europe,” he said.
Europe for example will need to import more LNG from the US to use it as the transitional energy source until the region hits its renewable targets, according to Mitsotakis.
“I do think there is a possibility on the US-European relation to work with President Trump and to find a win-win solution,” he said.
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