Roundup: Europe reacts to Donald Trump's election as U.S. president

Responses from government officials across Europe to the U.S. presidential election results on Wednesday were mixed, but nonetheless echoed the will to maintain strong ties with the United States and uphold European interests.

Donald Trump, the presidential nominee from the Republican Party, emerged as the winner of the U.S. presidential election on Wednesday, beating his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said his country's relationship with the United States would remain "solid and strong" in the wake of the election results.

The center-left Italian leader had openly endorsed Democratic candidate Clinton during the presidential campaign, and acknowledged Wednesday that the result of the American vote had been quite unexpected.

"It is indeed an unpredicted, but also undeniable, result, and we will respect it," he said.

The Italian premier called it "a fresh starting point for the whole international community, and a political event that, added to others, signals the opening of a new political season."

Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni also confirmed the relevance of stable Italy-U.S. ties, but stressed the Italian foreign policy would not alter its views on certain key issues.

"Italy will maintain its friendship and cooperation with the U.S., such things do not change," the minister told state RAI state radio, "In the same way, Italy's opposition to protectionism and borders closing is not going to change."

The victory of Trump was hailed by all opposition figures in Italy.

In Austria, Chancellor Christian Kern said U.S.-Austrian relations were good and had proved successful for years.

Kern believed that Trump would not implement many of the controversial announcements he made during the U.S. presidential election campaign, and that people would have to wait and see what would happen during the Trump administration.

Kern said few had predicted the result of the election, but that it should serve as a learning lesson for future European elections.

Meanwhile, Austria's foreign minister Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday said the result of U.S. presidential election would mean a lot of change for Europe and the world, and there would definitely be a period of uncertainty.

Austria is to hold its own presidential elections on Dec. 4. If right-wing Austrian Freedom Party's candidate Norbert Hofer takes the president's office, he would be the first right-wing populist president in the country since World War II.

Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said on Wednesday he hoped that Trump would continue the constructive cooperation that had characterized the Obama administration.

"When the dust has settled, it is my hope that the next administration would continue the open and constructive cooperation that has characterized the United States for many years," Rasmussen said after Clinton conceded defeat on Wednesday morning.

Of concern for Danish foreign minister Kristian Jensen is how Trump would cope with the climate policy, as the United States has a major role to play in global climate and energy policies.

During his campaign, Trump had said he would call off the climate agreement reached in Paris last year.

"It matters both for combating CO2 emissions and stopping the rise in global temperatures," he said.

The foreign minister noted there was a risk the United States would move away from renewable energy and towards coal and oil in an attempt to restore some of the jobs lost in the industry.

Greece's government said it was confident bilateral ties would continue to be excellent, but noted "there will be changes in U.S. internal affairs and the international system, which we are closely monitoring," government sources told Greek national news agency AMNA.

Prepared for either a Trump or Clinton presidential outcome, the Greek government maintained: "The Greek government has good relations with both parties, the Democratic and the Republican ... The Greek government and any Greek government has always had good relations with the U.S. and the American people," foreign affairs minister Nikos Kotzias said, according to AMNA.

Meanwhile, Marek Magierowski, head of the press office for the Polish presidency, said during an interview given to Polish Radio 24 that the most important thing for Poland would be implementing the decisions and resolutions of the NATO Warsaw summit held in July 2016.

This was echoed by Polish foreign affairs minister, Witold Waszczykowski, who said the most crucial discussion point with the new U.S. president would be security issues and the implementation of NATO allies' decisions.

But he also added his hopes that Trump would annul the obligatory visa for Poles, which is especially crucial to Polish businessmen who want to function within the U.S. market.

Minister of national defense Antoni Macierewicz said that he expected Polish-American relations to "not only to be good, but even better" after Trump's victory.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said the election result indicated that Americans were longing for change. It also reflects the uncertainty caused by globalization, he said.

Regarding Finland's primary issues of importance vis-a-vis the United States, Sipila said he hoped Europe and the Baltic region would receive consistent attention.

"It is crucial to us Finns that the United States remains committed to Europe and the security and stability of the Baltic Sea region," said Niinisto.

Eager to build a relationship with the new U.S. administration as quickly as possible, Sipila said he had already proposed a meeting with Mike Pence, the U.S. vice president-elect.

As for U.S.-Russia relations, Sipila hoped that Trump would open new doors to resolve, for example, the crisis in Syria.

Sipila said he did not expect the inauguration of the new U.S. president would change Finland's security policy and relations with NATO.

Meanwhile, Slovakian politicians said they respected the will of American citizens, that they should be listened to, and that the election outcome was evidence that what's going on in the world today is very different than what is presented by the media.

Regarding its relationship with the United States, what matters most for Slovakia will be foreign policy decisions with regard to NATO and the EU.

"Only the future will show whether the newly-elected president manages to overcome a shadow of populism that accompanied the whole of his election campaign and whether he manages to handle, in his new office, a burden of real responsibility for how the United States, but also the whole world, will look in four years," stated Vice Chairman of the Slovak parliament Bela Bugar.

The Latvian view, as expressed by President Raimonds Vejonis on Wednesday in his congratulatory message to the U.S. president-elect, was the hope for close relations with the new U.S. administration, underlining the democratic values shared by the two countries.

Vejonis also noted Latvia's desire to continue to develop political, security and economic cooperation with the United States.

"The U.S. has always been and will remain Latvia's strategic partner and a major NATO ally," President Vejonis said.

Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis also emphasized his country's readiness for active cooperation with the United States under the future Trump presidency.

"The Latvian government is ready to work with the new (U.S.) administration to strengthen transatlantic ties for Europe's security," the Latvian prime minister said, adding that he expected no major changes in the United States' security and foreign policy.

Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas' response to the victory of president-elect Trump on social media was: "The world needs the United States and Europe, united and strong. NATO, respect for liberty and democracy are fundamentals."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's address to the president-elect at a press conference was: "We face a challenging new security environment, including hybrid warfare, cyber attacks, and the threat of terrorism. U.S. leadership is as important as ever. A strong NATO is good for the United States, and good for Europe."

He said he looked forward to meeting Trump soon, and welcoming him to Brussels for the NATO Summit next year to discuss the way forward. Endit