- EU leaders stand united against Trump’s “America First” agenda.
- Europe weighs countermeasures after Trump threatens tariffs.
- Macron criticizes the attempt to tame Europe and calls the tariffs “unacceptable.”
DAVOS: European leaders drew a clear line on Greenland on Tuesday, pledging an “unwavering” response to threats from Washington, even as US President Donald Trump said he was ready to hold a meeting in Davos over his plans to seize the autonomous Danish territory.
Asked how far he would go, hours before addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump simply replied: “You’ll find out.”
“We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland and I think things are going to go pretty well,” Trump told reporters about his Davos meetings.
Leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss ski resort closed ranks against Trump’s increasingly aggressive America First agenda, while Greenland’s prime minister said its small population of 57,000 must be prepared for military force.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen led the European retort, warning that Trump risked plunging US ties with the European Union into a “downward spiral.”
Frenchman Emmanuel Macron warned against US attempts to “subordinate Europe” and called Trump’s threats to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on countries that oppose his plans for Greenland “unacceptable.”
Trump had previously insisted that Greenland was “imperative” for security. “There can be no turning back, everyone agrees on that!” published on his Truth Social platform.
The US president, who will address the annual meeting of world elites on Wednesday, has tested the transatlantic alliance with his demand to seize Greenland.
Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose taxes on eight European countries, although Washington has said any retaliatory taxes would be “reckless.”
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told European countries to “keep the pressure and temperature down” regarding threats of retaliatory tariffs, while U.S. trade envoy Jamieson Greer told reporters in Davos that “it would be unwise” for European nations to use their “bazooka” trade measures.
Von der Leyen called the U.S. tariffs a “mistake” and told the meeting of global political and business leaders that they could start a spiral that would only help Europe’s adversaries.
“That is why our response will be unwavering, united and proportional,” he stated.
NATO at stake
Trump has continued his campaign in Greenland Social Truthwriting that he had a “very good” call with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in which he agreed to meet with “several parties” in Davos.
Rutte’s predecessor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, warned that the Republican’s tactics in Greenland had triggered the biggest crisis in NATO history and said the time for “flattering” the American leader was over.
“What is at stake is the future of NATO and the future of the world order,” he told AFP in an interview in Davos.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen agreed, saying at a news conference in Nuuk that while military force was “unlikely,” it could not be ruled out.
“That’s why we must be prepared for all possibilities, but let’s emphasize this: Greenland is part of NATO and, if there was an escalation, it would also have consequences for the rest of the world.”
Trump maintains he wants to protect mineral-rich Greenland from what he perceives as Russian and Chinese threats, although Washington already has a base there and security agreements through NATO, while analysts suggest Beijing is a small player in the region.
EU leaders will hold an emergency summit on Greenland on Thursday in Brussels.
‘Law of the jungle’
Other prominent foreign leaders addressing the WEF on Tuesday included Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, whose country has been locked in a trade war with Trump.
“A select few countries should not have privileges based on self-interest, and the world cannot return to the law of the jungle where the strong take advantage of the weak,” he said, without naming names.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has sought to reduce his country’s dependence on the United States in his own tariff dispute with Trump, also expressed support for Greenland in Davos.
Canada had benefited from an era of “American hegemony,” he said, but now had to pivot to defend the existing international order.
Other flashpoints on the WEF agenda include the crises in Venezuela, Gaza, Iran and Ukraine.
Europe, which is increasing defense spending to break its security dependence on the United States, still needs Washington’s help to end the Ukraine war and deter the Russian threat looming in its east.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Tuesday that he was concerned that the furor over Greenland could divert attention, warning of a “loss of concentration during a large-scale war.”
Macron, wearing sunglasses due to a broken blood vessel, messaged Trump proposing a G7 summit in Paris on Thursday over Greenland and Ukraine, with Copenhagen, Moscow and kyiv on the sidelines.
But he later clarified to AFP that such a meeting was not yet planned and Trump said he would not participate in the meeting.
The Kremlin said Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev plans to meet members of the US delegation in Davos, the first to attend since the Russians were excluded from the meeting following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
