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.