At an extraordinary European summit in Brussels on Thursday 22 January, the leaders of the countries of the European Union will attempt to draw up a joint response to the threats of a trade war made by US President with the aim of taking over Greenland.
On Wednesday evening, however, Donald Trump announced via his social media that he would not be imposing tariffs on certain European countries after all, citing a “framework” agreement reached with NATO on Greenland. The entourage of the President of the European Council, António Costa, confirmed that the European summit would go ahead as planned.
Although these discussions concern the security of the European continent and several non-EU European countries, such as the United Kingdom and Norway, are also affected by possible customs barriers from the beginning of February, the meeting will be limited to the EU27. It is not expected to result in the adoption of specific European Council conclusions.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday morning, Mr Costa said that, in the face of the “geopolitical challenges” - Russian military aggression against Ukraine, challenges to key alliances and the rules-based international order - to which it is exposed, Europe can turn these threats into opportunities and, ultimately, emerge “more sovereign”.
He identified three courses of action. We will defend the principles of international law and territorial integrity, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide their future, stressed Mr Costa, adding that there was a “shared transatlantic interest” in strengthening the Arctic region within the framework of NATO.
He added that: “We cannot accept that the law of the strongest prevails over the rights of the weakest (and) we cannot accept violations of international law. Anywhere. Not in Ukraine, not in Greenland, not in Latin America, not in Africa, and not in the Gaza Strip”.
The President of the European Council stressed that Europeans “stand ready to defend [themselves] (...) against any form of coercion” and that they have the tools to it.
On the economic and trade front, a wide range of measures has been floated, should the United States take action (see EUROPE 13789/2): - freeze on the EU/US Turnberry agreement signed in July 2025 (see other news); - adoption of a €93 billion package of retaliatory trade measures, drawn up last summer but suspended until 6 February; - tougher application of competition rules in the digital market; - taxation of digital giants; - implementation, for the first time, of the EU’s ‘anti-coercion’ instrument (see EUROPE 13195/1).
Germany’s position on this last measure - supported by France but opposed by Italy - will be closely scrutinised. Will the EU27 ask the European Commission to initiate an investigation with the aim of establishing the existence of a coercive approach on the part of the United States?
In a free-trade Member State, it is recognised that, given the circumstances, no measure can be ruled out. The idea was put forward of considering measures that would hurt the United States more than Europeans, given that the United States has a very large trade surplus in the services sector. These include restricting access to public procurement in the EU, and even European taxation of digital services.
The third aspect of Europe’s response, according to Mr Costa, is to increase economic prosperity. “Just as the heads of state and government gave a strong boost to Europe’s defence in 2025, we must do the same for the European economy in 2026”, said the former Portuguese Prime Minister.
He identified a number of areas which will also be discussed at the European leaders’ ‘retreat’ on economic competitiveness on Thursday 12 February: - deepening the single market; - making life easier for businesses by simplifying rules and reducing the administrative burden; - reducing the cost of energy in a truly integrated market; - “defending our standards and regulatory independence against tech oligarchs”; - mobilising private savings to finance innovation in Europe; - continuing to weave the web of trade agreements with countries such as "”India, Australia, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates”.
In the wake of the European Parliament’s decision to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU (see EUROPE 13791/2), it is not out of the question for leaders to discuss the EU/Mercosur agreement, with the European Commission looking for a political signal regarding the possible provisional application of the agreement’s trade chapter.
Also speaking at the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated the comments she had made the previous day at the World Economic Forum in Davos (see EUROPE 13790/11). It is an “imperative” to “speed up our push for independence, whether in our economy, in our security, our technology (and) our democracy”, she stressed. In her view, “in this increasingly lawless world, Europe needs its own levers of power”, if it is to shape the world around it.
However, the Commission is keeping a low profile and does not want to give the impression that it is advocating an escalation of tensions. In Parliament, its President did not use the word ‘coercion’.
With regard to Greenland, Ms von der Leyen pointed out that the Commission was working on support measures to strengthen security in the Arctic region, including a sharp increase in economic investment and the purchase of specific equipment, such as icebreakers, through the European SAFE instrument in which Norway and Iceland are participating.
Donald Trump will not use force to annex Greenland. The nature and scale of the response from the EU27 will depend on how they read the statements made by the US President, present at Davos on Wednesday afternoon.
Donald Trump has reiterated his plans for Greenland, “a very large piece of ice” and “almost entirely uninhabited and undeveloped”, calling for the immediate opening of negotiations on the acquisition of Greenland, a territory considered strategic for the security of the United States. “Just as we have acquired many other territories over the course of our history, as have many European nations. There’s nothing wrong with that”, he explained.
The US President promised not to use force to achieve his aims. “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won’t do that. (...) That's probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force”, he insisted.
“You can say yes – and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no – and we will remember,” Mr Trump said, keeping up the pressure.
On several occasions, he has pointed out that his country, despite being NATO’s biggest contributor, has never obtained anything from the Alliance.
‘Board of Peace’. In addition, the European Summit will discuss the creation of the ‘Board of Peace’, which is part of the international peace plan for Gaza. The European Commission and several European countries have been invited to participate alongside the Russian and Belarusian leaders.
France politely declined the offer, citing concerns about the vertical operation of the body and competition with the UN in conflict resolution, while Hungary welcomed the opportunity to join. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Camille-Cerise Gessant)