Europe, NATO hit back at Trump

Brussels : EU heavyweights Germany and France led a sharp European response to US President-elect Donald Trump Monday after he branded NATO "obsolete" and said more countries would leave the EU after Britain.

In a hard-hitting interview with two European newspapers, Trump unleashed a volley of verbal attacks on Europe and criticised German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "catastrophic" decision to open Germany's borders to Syrian refugees.

With fears growing in Europe over Trump's commitment to the transatlantic alliance and signs he will pivot towards Russia, Merkel warned that the continent now had to take responsibility for itself.

"We Europeans have our fate in our own hands," Merkel told reporters in Berlin when asked about Trump's criticisms, adding that she will work towards getting the EU to strengthen the economy and fight terrorism.

French President Francois Hollande's response to Trump's intervention was more blunt, insisting that the European Union "has no need for outside advice" on its affairs.