How Europeans closed ranks to defend Greenland in opposition to Trump

[ad_1] Although bruised and battered, the bond between Europe and the US that has endured 80 uninterrupted years lives to see one other day.

That was the message that visibly relieved European leaders conveyed on the finish of a rare week that introduced the 2 sides of the Atlantic dangerously near an all-out, calamitous commerce conflict over the way forward for Greenland.

For a complete of 5 days, Donald Trump stored the continent on tenterhooks together with his shock menace to impose an extra 10% tariff on eight European international locations, all NATO members, in an try and strong-arm the acquisition of the mineral-rich, semi-autonomous island that belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark.

"This Tariff will probably be due and payable till such time as a Deal is reached for the Full and Whole buy of Greenland," Trump wrote in his now-infamous message.

The outrage was deafening. Presidents and prime ministers got here forth in unison to help Denmark's sovereignty and denounce what they noticed as blatant blackmail from a president intent on reshaping the worldwide order in keeping with his personal imaginative and prescient.

"No intimidation nor menace will affect us," stated French President Emmanuel Macron.

What adopted that first wave of condemnations was a frantic race in opposition to the clock to persuade Trump to desert his annexationist agenda and salvage the transatlantic relationship – and to arrange to hit again ought to the worst come to move.

EU ambassadors met on Sunday, the day after Trump's social media message, to start preparations for 1 February, the day on which the ten% tariffs have been as a result of take impact.

France took the lead by publicly calling for the activation of the Anti-Coercion Instrument , which might permit broad retaliation throughout a number of financial sectors. Initially designed with China in thoughts, the instrument has by no means been used – not even throughout final 12 months's commerce negotiations with the White Home, when Trump constantly upped the ante to browbeat Europeans into wide-ranging concessions.

Again then, member states had been sharply break up on how you can reply, with France and Spain advocating an offensive, and Italy and Germany urging a compromise. However this time, it was completely different – drastically so.

Trump was now not making use of tariffs to rebalance commerce flows and increase home manufacturing, the explanations he had cited on his "Liberation Day" in spring 2025. This time, he was searching for to use tariffs to grab territory from an ally.

"Plunging us right into a harmful downward spiral would solely support the very adversaries we're each so dedicated to preserving out of our strategic panorama," Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Fee, stated in a speech in Davos. "So our response will probably be unflinching, united and proportional."

The unprecedented dimension of the problem weighed closely on capitals, which swiftly got here to phrases with the prospect of precise retaliation. It was a stark distinction from the political divisions and reservations that plagued the 2025 talks.

Diplomats in Brussels spoke of a collective dedication to endure financial ache for the sake of defending Greenland, Denmark and the sovereignty of your entire bloc. An in depth checklist of tit-for-tat measures price €93 billion was placed on the desk to be launched as quickly as Trump's extra duties entered into drive.

In parallel, the European Parliament, enraged by Trump's ultimatum, voted to indefinitely delay the ratification of the EU-US commerce deal, blocking the zero-tariff advantages for American-made merchandise that von der Leyen and Trump agreed on in July.

Push and pull And but, as European leaders closed ranks and pushed again in opposition to Trump's expansionism, in addition they made it clear to everybody who was listening that diplomacy was their most popular choice to maintain the transatlantic alliance alive.

"We need to keep away from any escalation on this dispute if in any respect doable," stated German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "We merely need to attempt to resolve this drawback collectively."

Europeans started looking for an "off-ramp", as Finnish President Alexander Stubb aptly put it, to forestall a full-blown conflict, safeguard Greenland and let Trump rating a victory of types. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni instructed that Trump may need misunderstood the aim of the reconnaissance mission despatched to the island, which he cited in his social submit as justification for threatening the ten% tariff.

At first, the diplomatic overtures fell flat. Von der Leyen and Merz tried to fulfill Trump in Davos, however regardless of rampant hypothesis, the bilaterals by no means came about. In the meantime, Trump leaked a textual content message from Macron wherein the French chief advised him, "I don't perceive what you're doing on Greenland".

The textual content, confirmed as genuine by a supply within the French president's entourage, additionally pitched a G7 summit with "the Russians within the margins", a proposal that instantly raised eyebrows given Europe's frequent technique to isolate the Kremlin internationally.

As tensions rose ever larger, Trump took the stage on the World Financial Discussion board and doubled down on his need to take over Greenland, which he at occasions known as "Iceland".

"We wish a chunk of ice for world safety, and so they (Europeans) will not give it," he advised the packed room in Davos. "They've a alternative: you'll be able to say 'sure' and we'll be very appreciative, and you may say 'no' and we are going to keep in mind."

But Trump additionally stated he didn't need to use navy drive to perform his territorial designs, one thing which he had beforehand refused to rule out. The Europeans shortly caught on to the nuance and hoped that a gap was about to emerge.

The speech paved the best way for NATO Secretary Common Mark Rutte, who had stored a low profile within the spiralling disaster, to fulfill with Trump in Davos and strike what the 2 males referred to as a " framework deal " to boost safety in Greenland and your entire Arctic area.

The settlement, particulars of which haven't but been made public and are topic to additional discussions, was the "off-ramp" that allies have been desperately on the lookout for: Trump confirmed he would now not apply tariffs or pursue the possession of Greenland.

By the point EU leaders met in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit convened in response to the showdown, the environment had shifted.

Prime ministers have been seen shaking arms and patting one another's backs with broad smiles on their faces. Upon arrival, they advised reporters the transatlantic bond was too precious to be ditched in a single week.

The respite within the room was palpable, regardless of a sense of restlessness and confusion hanging within the air – and lingering fears that Trump's Greenland fixation may return.

"We stay extraordinarily vigilant and able to use our instruments if there are additional threats," Macron stated, praising Europe's show of unity.

The morning after the late-night summit, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen met with Mark Rutte in Brussels and later flew to Nuuk to dispel the impression that the framework deal could be written with out Danish or Greenlandic consent.

Whiplash In a method, the chain of occasions ended because it began, with Europeans calling the US their closest ally and vowing to work collectively to confront world challenges.

However beneath the floor, a painful reckoning was underway.

Europeans have spent the final 12 months scrambling to comprise Trump's mercurial international coverage, watching in disbelief as he floated enterprise ventures with the Kremlin, sanctioned judges of the Worldwide Felony Courtroom, eliminated Nicolás Maduro from energy in Venezuela, and expanded the Board of Peace ostensibly set as much as handle post-war Gaza right into a rival of the United Nations.

Whereas these disruptive actions have been, to a larger or lesser extent, tolerated, Trump's heavy-handed pursuit of Greenland proved to be an excessive amount of to bear. For a lot of, the tariff menace crossed a line and set a precedent, even when it was finally withdrawn.

The whiplash from this turbulent week won't disappear.

As von der Leyen stated, it should solely amplify requires a extra unbiased Europe with a wider web of companions to fall again on.

"All people has drawn the conclusion that the connection is on a special footing," stated a senior EU official. "And that requires choices on our facet."