Europe responded to Donald Trump attacks on Monday with calls for unity and warnings that aggressive attitudes will have consequences for the United States, reports Spanish newspaper El País.

The French government urged its European partners to close ranks. French presidential candidate Manuel Valls described the US president-elect's criticism against the UE as a "declaration of war". Trump said on Sunday that European countries should follow UK example and leave the Union as soon as possible.

German ministers of finance and economics warned that protectionism will hurt the US. Angela Merkel avoided sharp reactions, but pointed out significantly: "The future of the EU is in the hands of Europeans."

A few days after his move to the White House, Trump maintains a speech that, if implemented, would imply a radical shift in transatlantic relations established since the end of World War II. The latest episode came with an interview with the British newspaper The Times and the German Bild. In addition to attacking Merkel and the EU, Trump questioned the US commitment to NATO, which it described as "obsolete".

The interview is a frontal attack on Germany's strategy and interests: attacks on the European Union, threats of high tariffs on the automobile industry and criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's immigration policy. 

Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, now freed from the post's corsets and immersed in the campaign for being the Socialist candidate for the presidency of the Republic, was tougher with Trump's references to Europe: "It's a provocation. A declaration of war on Europe, "he told to the press.

As reported in El País.