DAVOS: European leaders take the stage on Tuesday ahead of Donald Trump at the gathering of global elites in Davos, as the US president dangles tariff threats in a bid to pressure the EU over Greenland.
Trump is set to dominate the week at the Swiss ski resort, with a US delegation already on the ground to promote an American agenda that has unsettled the global order cherished by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron will address the forum on Tuesday, along with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose countries have their own disputes with Trump.
Trump will deliver a speech on Wednesday and participate in other events on Thursday.
Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland standoff.
The US president said he did not think European leaders would “push back too much” on his attempt to buy the vast Arctic island, telling reporters on Monday: “They have to have this done. They can’t protect it.”
Trump has flagged wanting to protect Greenland from perceived Russian and Chinese threats as a key justification for taking over the strategically-located territory, though analysts suggest Beijing is a small player in the region.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the US contingent in Davos, warned that EU retaliation “would be very unwise.”
Von der Leyen met with a bipartisan US congressional delegation in Davos on Monday and said on social media that she had “addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
While Macron will leave on Tuesday without seeing Trump in Davos, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would seek to meet the US president at the forum on Wednesday.
Merz said Germany and other European countries agreed “that we want to avoid any escalation in this dispute if at all possible.”
Trump’s relations with Macron hit a new low Monday when the US president threatened 200 percent tariffs on French wine over France’s intention to decline an invitation to join his “Board of Peace.”
Analysts have likened the board aimed at resolving international conflicts to a pay-to-play version of the UN Security Council — and Trump confirmed Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of various world leaders invited to join.
European Union leaders will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss their response to the Greenland crisis, one of the gravest in years to hit transatlantic ties.
At a news conference in Davos, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said “tariff threats at the allied level are unacceptable. They weaken our transatlantic relationship and, in the worst case, can lead to a vicious cycle.”
When asked if the United States might use force, Stubb said: “I don’t believe that the United States will take control of Greenland militarily.”
Denmark has proposed that NATO start surveillance operations in Greenland to confront security concerns.
- ‘USA House’ -
Other prominent foreign leaders addressing the WEF on Tuesday include Carney, who has sought to reduce his country’s reliance on the United States as Trump has raised tariffs on Canadian products.
As US ties fray, Carney turned the page on years of diplomatic tensions with China during a visit to Beijing last week, securing a preliminary trade agreement to reduce tariffs.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, whose country has had long-running trade spats with Trump, will also address the WEF.
Other flashpoints on the WEF agenda include the crises in Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine and Iran.
The United States has sent an unusually large delegation to Davos, in a sign that it wants to make its presence felt at the gathering for global economic and political leaders.
Bessent and other US officials will attend panels at the forum’s congress center but also at the “USA House,” a venue inside an old church on the glitzy promenade of the mountain retreat.
EU leaders take stage in Davos as Trump rocks global order
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EU leaders take stage in Davos as Trump rocks global order
- European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron will address the forum on Tuesday
EU leaders to reassess US ties despite Trump U-turn on Greenland
- Diplomats stressed that, although Thursday’s emergency EU talks in Brussels would now lose some of their urgency, the longer-term issue of how to handle the relationship with the US remained
BRUSSELS: EU leaders will rethink their ties with the US at an emergency summit on Thursday after Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs and even military action to acquire Greenland badly shook confidence in the transatlantic relationship, diplomats said.
Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from his threat of tariffs on eight European nations, ruled out using force to take Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and suggested a deal was in sight to end the dispute.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, welcoming Trump’s U-turn on Greenland, urged Europeans not to be too quick to write off the transatlantic partnership.
But EU governments remain wary of another change of mind by a mercurial president who is increasingly seen as a bully that Europe will have to stand up to, and they are focused on coming up with a longer-term plan on how to deal with the United States under this administration and possibly its successors too.
“Trump crossed the Rubicon. He might do it again. There is no going back to what it was. And leaders will discuss it,” one EU diplomat said, adding that the bloc needed to move away from its heavy reliance on the US in many areas.
“We need to try to keep him (Trump) close while working on becoming more independent from the US It is a process, probably a long one,” the diplomat said.
EU RELIANCE ON US
After decades of relying on the United States for defense within the NATO alliance, the EU lacks the needed intelligence, transport, missile defense and production capabilities to defend itself against a possible Russian attack. This gives the US substantial leverage.
The US is also Europe’s biggest trading partner, making the EU vulnerable to Trump’s policies of imposing tariffs to reduce Washington’s trade deficit in goods, and, as in the case of Greenland, to achieve other goals.
“We need to discuss where the red lines are, how we deal with this bully across the Atlantic, where our strengths are,” a second EU diplomat said.
“Trump says no tariffs today, but does that mean also no tariffs tomorrow, or will he again quickly change his mind? We need to discuss what to do then,” the second diplomat said.
The EU had been considering a package of retaliatory tariffs on 93 billion euros ($108.74 billion) on US imports or anti-coercive measures if Trump had gone ahead with his own tariffs, while knowing such a step would harm Europe’s economy as well as the United States.
WHAT’S THE GREENLAND DEAL?
Several diplomats noted there were still few details of the new plan for Greenland, agreed between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte late on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Nothing much changed. We still need to see details of the Greenland deal. We are a bit fed up with all the bullying. And we need to act on a few things: more resiliency, unity, get our things together on internal market, competitiveness. And no more accepting tariff bullying,” a third diplomat said.
Rutte told Reuters in an interview in Davos on Thursday that under the framework deal he reached with Trump the Western allies would have to step up their presence in the Arctic.
He also said talks would continue between Denmark, Greenland and the US on specific issues.
Diplomats stressed that, although Thursday’s emergency EU talks in Brussels would now lose some of their urgency, the longer-term issue of how to handle the relationship with the US remained.
“The approach of a united front in solidarity with Denmark and Greenland while focusing on de-escalation and finding an off-ramp has worked,” a fourth EU diplomat said.
“At the same time it would be good to reflect on the state of the relationship and how we want to shape this going forward, given the experiences of the past week (and year),” he said.
