Emmanuel Macron told Trump not to take any hasty decision on a global climate change deal

French President Emmanuel Macron told his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday not to take any hasty decision on a global climate change deal that the American president had criticised during his campaign.

“I respect the fact he placed under review the Paris agreement,” Macron told a joint news conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

“My wish is that there should be no rushed decision from the United States of America,” he said, adding that the two leaders had an “extremely direct and very frank” meeting.

“It was a very good, pragmatic and warm meeting,” Macron said, adding that the United States remained an essential partner for France.

Trump praised Macron’s “great job” to win French election

U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated French leader Emmanuel Macron on Thursday for doing a “great job” to win this month’s election whileMacron said the two men would be able to change many things together.

The presidents, meeting for the first time since Macron was elected on May 7 after a turbulent campaign, shook hands firmly before lunch in Brussels, with Macron gripping Trump’s hand so tight that it turned white.

Trump told Macron it was an honour to be with him, saying he had run “an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory”.

“All over the world they are talking about it and we have a lot to discuss including terrorism and other things. Congratulations, great job,” he said before the lunch at the U.S. ambassador’s residence.

Macron, a newcomer to international diplomacy, replied that he was very happy to be with Trump, who he will see again later on Thursday at a meeting of NATO leaders.

“We have an extremely broad agenda to discuss on the subjects of the fight against terrorism, the economy, climate and energy,” the 39-year-old president said.

“This NATO summit is also a chance for us to have a first meeting and I am very happy to be able to change a lot of things together,” he said, speaking in French.

Macron, without his wife Brigitte, was greeted on the doorstep of the U.S. ambassador’s residence by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

The two men sat down to a lunch of tomato and mozzarella followed by veal filet and Belgian chocolate mousse.

Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate who Macron defeated to win the French presidency, said before the election that she was best placed to defend France’s interests in what she called the “new world” of Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

After a policeman was killed in Paris in April by a suspected Islamist militant, Trump told the Associated Press he thought the attack would “probably help” Le Pen because she was the candidate who is “strongest on borders”. However, he said he was not explicitly endorsing Le Pen.

At an earlier meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, Macron pressed Europeans to strengthen security cooperation after 22 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Manchester, England, on Monday.

“Beyond solidarity, it’s obviously European cooperation that we need to reinforce, in the field of intelligence, information sharing, the protection of our common borders,” he said.

The French president will also meet his Turkish and Polish counterparts and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels on Thursday.

Trump, Macron engaged in a little handshake diplomacy

U.S. President Donald Trump and French President EmmanuelMacron barely know each other but they seemed to have a hard time letting go when they first met on Thursday.

Each man gripped each other’s right hand so firmly that their knuckles turned white and their jaws seemed to clench.

Images from the photo session at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Brussels showed Trump finally giving up, his fingers loosened while Macron is still holding on tightly.

Macron’s determination may be a lesson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who on a recent visit to the Oval Office tried and failed to get Trump to shake her hand.

Both Trump and Macron were in Brussels to attend a NATO summit.

After their meeting, they had veal filet and Belgian chocolate mousse for lunch.

Macron calls for stronger European security cooperation after Manchester attack

French President Emmanuel Macron pressed Europeans to strengthen security cooperation and intelligence-sharing after a deadly attack in Manchester as he arrived in Brussels for a meeting of the NATO military alliance on Thursday.

The 39-year-old president, a newcomer to international diplomacy, will meet many of his counterparts for the first time over the next few days at the NATO meeting in the Belgian capital followed by a G7 summit in Sicily.

Welcomed by Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel at his Brussels residence, Macronpromoted what he calls his “protection agenda” for Europe, which he said must include measures to protect workers from the effects of globalisation but also to beef up cooperation to prevent further attacks.

“Our British friends have, a few days ago, gone through what our two countries have gone through over the last few months, with the terrorist threat in Manchester,” Macron said at a joint news conference with Michel.

“Beyond solidarity, it’s obviously European cooperation that we need to reinforce, in the field of intelligence, information sharing, the protection of our common borders,” said Macron, who was elected just over two weeks ago.

British officials have expressed frustration over leaks to U.S. media on their investigation into Monday’s suicide bombing in Manchester which killed 22 people and, according to a British counter-terrorism source, have stopped sharing information on the bombing with the United States.