German, French leaders respond to Trump's EU comments

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Europe

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have criticized comments by US President-elect Donald Trump who said in an interview published Sunday that Brexit is "great" and German immigration policy "catastrophic."

Hollande: EU needs no outside advice

French President Francois Hollande is pictured during a meeting with leaders of international start-ups based in Paris on January 16, 2017. /CFP Photo

"I think Brexit is going to end up being a great thing," Trump told The Times of London newspaper. "I'll tell you, the fact that your pound sterling has gone down? Great. Because business is unbelievable in a lot of parts in the UK."

The US President-elect also predicted that other countries would follow Britain's lead in leaving the European Union (EU).

"I think people want ... their own identity, so if you ask me ... I believe others will leave," Trump said.

In addition to EU, Trump also berated the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by calling it "obsolete".

French President Francois Hollande did not take kindly to Trump's comments, insisting on Monday that the EU "does not need external advice to tell it what it has to do," and adding that NATO "will be obsolete only when threats have also become obsolete."

Merkel's refutal

This combination of file photos shows US President-elect Donald Trump (top, November‍, 2016 in New Jersey) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (September , 2016 in Berlin). /CFP Photo

In the Times interview, conducted in his office in New York, Trump also made his feelings about German Chancellor Angela Merkel's immigration policy clear.

"I think she made one very catastrophic mistake and that was taking all of these illegals, you know, taking all of the people from wherever they come from. And nobody even knows where they come from," Trump said.

Merkel remained non-plussed however. "He has recently reiterated his positions, which have been known for a while, mine are also known," she said Monday.

"We Europeans hold our destiny in our own hands," she added.

(With inputs from Xinhua)