EU faces unpredictable 'Trump 2.0'

Bloc struggling with new challenges, from Ukraine crisis to possible trade war, posed by US president-elect's 2nd term

When Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States, arrived in Paris on Dec 7 for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral, French President Emmanuel Macron greeted him with a grand welcome usually reserved for a sitting US president, with trumpets blaring and members of the French Republican Guard in full uniform.

A trilateral meeting of Trump, Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Elysee Palace was not on Trump's original schedule but was hastily added, making major headlines.

The scenes have been widely seen as Macron's bid to win favor from the 47th US president who will again occupy the White House on Jan 20, four years after his last term, which left a haunting memory for many Europeans.