France urged the European Union to use its laws more robustly to defend itself against outside interference and Spain's prime minister lambasted Elon Musk on Wednesday, as the U.S. tech billionaire steps up his comments about European politics.

Elon Musk praised the co-leader of the German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) as “very reasonable” on Thursday, urging Germans to vote for the far-right party in what is the latest high-profile sign of the tech billionaire’s involvement in European politics.

Musk's escalating criticism and mocking of European leaders and governments, which he has done repeatedly via X, the social media platform he owns, has sparked a backlash from

France warned President-elect Donald Trump to back off from threats to the European Union’s “sovereign borders” Wednesday, a day after he declined to rule out using military force to take Greenland. “There is no question of the EU letting other nations in the world—whoever they might be—attack its sovereign borders,

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Wednesday that the European Union must defend itself better against attacks on its sovereign borders, following US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about taking Greenland.