Leaders of the European Union want to preserve the bloc’s trans-Atlantic partnership with the United States, but “not at the expense of the bloc’s interests,” said European Council President, António Costa, on Thursday.
Costa also announced the EU countries’ plans to double investments in Greenland. He also maintained that the US is EU’s “biggest trading partner” and that “the goal remains the effective stabilisation of trade relations”.
Costa’s comments followed an emergency summit of EU leaders in Brussels late on Thursday to reassess the bloc’s relations with the US amid President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to annex the semi-autonomous Greenland and impose tariffs on nations that resist his ambition.
Although Trump backed off his tariff threats whilst addressing world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and also announced a “framework” deal with NATO on taking control of Greenland, Costa said the priority now is to implement the EU-US trade deal that had been agreed upon in July, 2025.
He warned, however, that the EU “will continue to stand up for its interests and will defend itself, its member states, its citizens and its companies against any form of coercion”.
Also Read: EU may put retaliatory tariff on US over Trump's Greenland threat
At the WEF, most European countries made strong statements about supporting Greenland’s sovereignty, with European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, saying that her team will soon put forward a “comprehensive package of investments” to ensure that the country remains independent and free from “foreign interference”.
French President, Emmanuel Macron, did not mince words when he said that the EU bloc prefers dialogue to “bullies”. France has also rejected Trump’s invitation to join the Gaza Board of Peace.
Macron has been hinting at the EU’s “bazooka tariff” resort, saying direct countermeasures in the form of reciprocal tariffs on the US remain an option.
“What we must conclude from this is that when Europe responds in a united manner, using the instruments at its disposal when it is threatened, it can command respect, and that is a very good thing,” he said whilst leaving the EU headquarters in Brussels.
Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, said that Denmark’s sovereignty is a “red line”, but stressed on the need for permanent NATO presence in the Arctic region, including around Greenland.
German Chancellor, Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz, who had initially criticised the US for its hostile rhetoric towards Greenland, expressed gratitude to Trump for “distancing himself from his original plans to take over Greenland”.
“I am also grateful that he has refrained from imposing additional tariffs from February 1,” Merz said, adding that the EU, in all its power, must build a strong foundation of resilience and robustness to tackle uncertainty and future challenges.
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