The transatlantic dispute over Greenland escalated as European nations issued a rare, coordinated response to U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s proposed tariffs, signaling strong support for Denmark and Greenland and warning Washington against coercion.<\/p>\n
According to international media reports, eight countries directly targeted by the proposed tariffs, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement declaring \u201cfull solidarity\u201d with Denmark and Greenland. The statement warned that the U.S. move risked a \u201cdangerous downward spiral\u201d in transatlantic relations and pledged a \u201cunited and coordinated\u201d response to uphold sovereignty.<\/p>\n
European Council President Antonio Costa said the European Union (EU) is \u201cready to defend itself against any form of coercion\u201d in response to Trump\u2019s threats. National leaders also expressed strong opposition. Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel called the tariffs \u201cblackmail,\u201d German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said \u201ca line has been crossed,\u201d and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized on social media that \u201cEurope will not be blackmailed.\u201d<\/p>\n
French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s office confirmed that Macron would request a coordinated EU response should the U.S. follow through with its tariff plan. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said after meeting his Norwegian counterpart that he had \u201cno doubt about the support from Europe,\u201d while Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide added, \u201cWe will not yield to pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other European leaders beyond the directly targeted states joined the chorus of criticism. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the tariff threats \u201ca mistake,\u201d while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the U.S. threat as \u201ccompletely wrong,\u201d reaffirming that Greenland is part of Denmark and its future is for the Greenlanders and Danes to decide.<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s Foreign Minister Helen McEntee stressed the importance of respecting the principles of the United Nations Charter, and Croatia expressed solidarity with Denmark, warning that additional tariffs could destabilize EU-U.S. trade relations.<\/p>\n
At the EU level, lawmakers called for immediate retaliation using the bloc\u2019s \u201cAnti-Coercion Instrument,\u201d described as an \u201ceconomic nuclear weapon.\u201d The mechanism would allow punitive measures, including tariffs, market bans, financial sanctions, and suspension of U.S. patents and licenses, without going through the UN or WTO. Valerie Hayer, president of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, highlighted that the EU is the U.S.\u2019s largest export market, with over 500 billion dollars in annual trade, and said Trump \u201cshould think twice\u201d before proceeding. Financial Times reported that EU capitals are considering tariffs worth 93 billion euros (108 billion U.S. dollars) or reviving the Anti-Coercion Instrument.<\/p>\n
The standoff stems from Trump\u2019s repeated calls to \u201cobtain\u201d Greenland. On Saturday, he announced via social media that the U.S. would levy a 10-percent tariff on goods from the eight targeted countries starting February 1, rising to 25 percent from June 1, until a deal is reached for the \u201ccomplete and total purchase\u201d of Greenland.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s unusually strong and coordinated response indicates a firm willingness to confront Washington over Greenland\u2019s sovereignty, even at the risk of a tit-for-tat economic conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The transatlantic dispute over Greenland escalated as European nations issued a rare, coordinated response to U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s proposed tariffs, signaling strong support for Denmark and Greenland and warning Washington against coercion. According to international media reports, eight countries directly targeted by the proposed tariffs, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":71217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,17],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[213],"class_list":{"0":"post-71216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest","8":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n