Europe promises “firmness” in the face of Trump’s “unacceptable” tariff threat on Greenland | International

It seems that the European Union is finally beginning to run out of patience in the face of Donald Trump’s endless tariff threats and his annexationist policy, now stubborn in Greenland. Faced with the usual caution with which until now the European bloc had reacted to each announcement or direct imposition of the American president, the response to the refusal to let him take over the Arctic island has provoked a rapid response from both the EU and some of the countries mentioned, which have not hesitated to describe the latest threat as “unacceptable” and a “blackmail” that they are not willing to accept.

While seeking to coordinate this joint and “firm” response at a forced pace, as Brussels has promised, and which should include the non-EU countries also threatened, the United Kingdom and Norway, the European Parliament has already taken a significant step: the main political groups have announced that the conditions for Scotland last summer are not met. “The PPE [Partido Popular Europeo] is in favor of the EU-US trade deal, but given Donald Trump’s threats on Greenland, approval is not possible at this point. The 0% tariffs on American products must be suspended,” announced the president of the largest group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, on the social network X.

Her counterpart from Socialists and Democrats, Iratxe García, stated the same in conversation with EL PAÍS late this Saturday afternoon: “Under these circumstances, the regulations on tariffs that are now on the table cannot be approved.” And they are also joined by the opinion of the Renew liberals: “The time has come to move from dependency to deterrence (…) Renew Europe cannot vote in favor of the trade agreement between the EU and the US,” announced its president, Valérie Hayer.

In recent days, both García and Hayer had shown reluctance to approve the zero tariffs for several United States products agreed upon as a counterpart to reducing customs rates for European exports to the other side of the Atlantic to 15% in response to the threats against Greenland launched from the White House. Their objections are added to the previous ones of groups such as La Izquierda, as its co-president, Manon Aubry, recalled this afternoon, who had already rejected the pact since it was reached.

By joining these formations the EPP, the largest group in parliament, the freezing of the approval of this pact in the European Parliament is guaranteed.

New measures should be added to this first action in the coming hours and days, given the level of rejection that Trump’s announcement has caused in practically all European capitals. In fact, already this Sunday, a meeting of ambassadors from Member States has been called to analyze the situation.

“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and could provoke a dangerous downward spiral,” the presidents of the European Council, António Costa, and Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, which has trade responsibility for the bloc, have warned in a joint statement. “Europe will remain united, coordinated and committed to the defense of its sovereignty,” adds the letter, which makes it clear that it is not going to back down with regard to its “solidarity” and support for Denmark and its autonomous territory of Greenland.

Some of the countries that Trump now threatens with a tariff of up to 25% have also responded quickly in the same tone: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland.

French President Emmanuel Macron has described Trump’s threat as “unacceptable” and has assured that “no intimidation or threat” will change Europe’s position “neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world where we face this type of situation.” “Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place (…) Europeans will respond in a united and coordinated manner if they are confirmed.” [las amenazas]. We will ensure that European sovereignty is respected,” he stressed in a message on X.

More moderate than his French counterpart, the British prime minister has also responded to the American president’s announcement. Greenland, Keir Starmer has said, “is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes.” “The application of tariffs to allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO members is completely wrong,” said the Labor Party, who has assured that he will address the matter with the US Administration.

The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, has also rejected what he described as unacceptable “blackmail.” “We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed. Only Denmark and Greenland decide on matters that concern them. I will always defend my country and our allied neighbors. This is an EU issue that affects many more countries than those now mentioned,” he wrote on the social network. “Sweden is holding intense conversations with other EU countries, Norway and the United Kingdom to find a collective response,” he also announced.

The critical voices have even been joined by one of the European leaders closest to Trump, the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb: “Problems between allies are resolved through dialogue and common rules of the game, not by creating pressure,” he said in vicious circle.”

Although punishing with tariffs the countries that he considers torpedoing his plans to take control of Greenland by hook or by crook, the Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, said he was “surprised” by the decision announced this Saturday. Rasmussen met this week, along with his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeld, at the White House with the US Vice President, JD Vance, and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. The head of Danish diplomacy describes it as “constructive”. Rasmussen now assures in a message on NATO partners we are intensifying our efforts with full transparency together with our American allies,” he adds.

“We have constantly underlined our shared transatlantic interest in peace and security in the Arctic, including through NATO,” Von der Leyen and Costa also recall in their joint statement, issued from Asunción, Paraguay, where they had just signed when Trump’s new threat became known. “The pre-coordinated Danish exercise, carried out with allies, responds to the need to reinforce security in the Arctic and does not pose any threat to anyone,” insist the senior European officials, who note: “Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law. They are essential for Europe and for the international community as a whole.”