The President of the Eurochambres, Vladimír Dlouhý, said this Tuesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that Donald Trump's victory in the United States elections is a wake-up call for the European continent to apply policies to stimulate its competitiveness.
"Unfortunately, Europe has had many wake-up calls but we still haven't woken up", said Dlouhý during an event organised by the New Economy Forum in the European capital.
The President of Eurochambres, former Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, warned that the European Union and its governing bodies have many more enemies than the American president himself.
"The results in Austria, Holland and Slovakia show us that people are voting against the Brussels guidelines", he said, warning that in the meantime MEPs are still in their "European bubble" and waiting for others to solve their problems.
He also warned that European exports will suffer during Donald Trump's term in office given the rhetoric of possible tariffs displayed by Trump during the election campaign, but warned that the current situation is not good either.
After acknowledging that he would never vote for Trump, Dlohuý wanted to encourage people and said that on many occasions the verbal rhetoric of the American president does not translate into concrete policies.
Finally, when asked about the possible increase in military costs that the European Union may have to face due to Donald Trump's rise to power, he said that when military spending increases it usually has a positive impact on growth in the short and medium term.