It’s not often that Europe speaks with one voice – or responds with such urgency.
But US President Donald Trump’s announcement Saturday of sanctions against several European countries that reject any US claim to Greenland, a Danish territory, was one of those moments.
EU ambassadors held an emergency meeting in Brussels on Sunday in response to Trump’s threat, which he made after an estimated quarter of the population of Greenland’s capital Nuuk joined protests against any potential annexation.
Across the continent, among allies that usually tread carefully in responding to utterances from the White House, the response was immediate and emphatic, and recognized an existential threat to the transatlantic alliance. The US President fired back late Sunday repeating his claim Denmark had failed to counter Moscow’s maneuvering around Greenland.
“NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland.’ Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Earlier on Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Trump and told him that “applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong,” according to 10 Downing Street.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has tried to cultivate a good personal relationship with Trump, described the threat of tariffs as “unacceptable.” “No intimidation or threat will influence us – neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations,” he said on X.
“Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner should they be confirmed. We will ensure that European sovereignty is upheld.” Even Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has typically had positive relations with the US president, described the move as an “error” in a handout video from a state visit to South Korea.
Revealing she had already had a phone conversation with Trump, Meloni said she “doesn’t agree” with the idea of imposing tariffs against countries that contribute to Greenland’s security.
Eight European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and France, issued a joint statement Sunday saying that, “tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response.”
Source: Here