French, German leaders say must act for 'strong' Europe

At a joint news briefing with Macron at the Elysee palace two days after US President Donald Trump took office, Scholz said the new US leader "will be, and so much is already clear, a challenge".

He added: "Europe will not cower and hide, but instead be a constructive and assertive partner."

This stance, Scholz said, will be "the basis for good cooperation with the new American president".

Europe and US are linked by "a long history of friendship and partnership" which he called "a stable foundation" for future relations, he added.

Trump, had already announced a number of policy measures "which we will, of course, analyse in detail together with our European partners", Scholz said.

The meeting between both leaders came on the 62nd anniversary of the Elysee Treaty, a framework for French-German bilateral relations after World War II.

"Our couple is solid," said Macron.

Macron and Scholz underlined the role of their countries' close cooperation for European unity.

"Europe must be strong and resilient in a world that is, to put it mildly, in motion," said Scholz, who next month faces a general election at home.

"The only possible response for Europeans to the period that we are entering is more unity, more ambition, more audacity and more independence," Macron said. "This is our momentum, and this is the direction in which we are going."

Macron said Europe needed not only to spend more for its own defence, "but must also develop its own industrial base, its own capacities, its own industry".