AFP – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Jan 20 an “unflinching” response to Mr Donald Trump’s threats over Greenland, as the US President said he was ready to hold a meeting in Davos about the Arctic island.
In a speech to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss ski resort, Dr von der Leyen warned that Mr Trump risked plunging US ties with the European Union into a “downward spiral” over the autonomous Danish territory.
Mr Trump, who will address the annual gathering of global elites on Jan 21, has put the transatlantic alliance to the test with his demand to take over Greenland.
Europe is weighing countermeasures after the US President threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland stand-off, although Washington has said any retaliatory levies would be “unwise”.
“The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between longstanding allies,” Dr von der Leyen told the meeting of world business and political leaders.
“Plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape. So, our response will be unflinching, united and proportional,” she said.
Europe “must respond” to any trade war, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later told her Parliament, adding: “We are compelled to do so.”
Mr Trump pressed on with his Greenland campaign on his Truth Social platform, posting a fake photo of himself planting a flag in a rock and ice landscape next to a sign reading “GREENLAND – US TERRITORY EST. 2026”.
He later wrote he had a “very good” call with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte over mineral-rich Greenland.
“I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland,” he said late on Jan 19.
He said he did not think European leaders would “push back too much” on his attempt to buy the vast island, telling reporters: “They can’t protect it.”
Mr Trump has used the argument that he wants to protect Greenland from perceived Russian and Chinese threats as a key justification for taking over the strategically located territory, although analysts suggest that Beijing is a small player in the region.
EU leaders will hold an emergency summit on Greenland in Brussels on Jan 22.
Trump vs Macron
Mr Trump’s relations with French President Emmanuel Macron have also hit a new low.
The US leader threatened 200 per cent tariffs on French wine and champagne over France’s intention to decline an invitation to join his “Board of Peace”.
Analysts have likened the board aimed at resolving international conflicts – which has a US$1 billion (S$1.28 billion) fee for a permanent spot – to a pay-to-play version of the UN Security Council.
Mr Trump confirmed on Jan 19 that Russian President Vladimir Putin was one of various world leaders invited to join, and told reporters of Mr Macron that “nobody wants him” as he will “be out of office very soon”.
While Mr Macron will leave on Jan 20 without seeing Mr Trump in Davos, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would seek to meet the US President at the forum on Jan 21.
Mr Macron has instead sent a message to Mr Trump to propose a G-7 summit in Paris on Jan 22 on Greenland, as well as ways to end Russia’s war with Ukraine, with Copenhagen, Moscow and Kyiv attending on the sidelines.
The Kremlin said Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev plans to meet members of the US delegation in Davos, the first to head to the mountain resort since Russians were excluded from the gathering following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The US has sent an unusually large delegation to Davos, in a sign that it wants to make its presence felt at the summit for global economic and political leaders.
China slams ‘law of the jungle’
Other prominent foreign leaders addressing the WEF on Jan 20 included Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, whose country has been locked in a trade war with Mr Trump.
“A select few countries should not have privileges based on self-interest, and the world cannot revert to the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak,” Mr He said, without naming any country.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has sought to reduce his country’s reliance on the US in its own tariffs feud with Mr Trump, will also speak in Davos later on Jan 20.
As US ties fray, Mr 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.
Other flashpoints on the WEF agenda include the crises in Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine and Iran.
Europe, which is ramping up defence spending to break its security reliance on the US, still needs Washington’s help to end the Ukraine war and deter the looming Russian threat to its east.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Jan 20 that he feared that the furore over Greenland could divert attention.
“I’m worried about any loss of focus during a full-scale war,” he told reporters, adding that the two crises should not be seen as “interchangeable”.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, a Davos regular, cancelled his participation after coming down with a “bad cold”, his office said.
