European authorities began to emphasize the role of the G7 as a coordination forum in the face of the escalation of trade tensions caused by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who threatened to impose tariffs on European countries if there is no agreement on the sale of Greenland to the USA.
According to DWGerman Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil stated that Europe will respond in a coordinated way. “We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed,” he declared, adding that European countries are “preparing countermeasures together with partners.”
For him, Trump’s stance represents a succession of shocks and “the”.
In a joint press conference with Klingbeil, French Economy Minister Roland Lescure classified the tariff threat as “blackmail”, something he considered “obviously unacceptable”. Lescure also highlighted that G7 finance ministers are expected to meet in the coming days to discuss the response to the North American government, stressing that Europeans need to remain ready to use “all instruments” available.
Already the The Guardian reported that Lescure intends to use the G7 as a central space to coordinate political reaction, while reaffirming that France is “fully on the side of Greenland and Denmark”.
According to the EuronewsEU leaders also decided to convene an emergency summit in Brussels later this week, after the European Commission presented member states with options that include reactivating a 93 billion euro package against US products.
At a press conference in London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reinforced that “any decision about the future of Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland and Denmark.”
Starmer commented that the use of tariffs against allies is “completely wrong” and warned that a trade war is “in no one’s interests”, although he reiterated that the United Kingdom and the United States remain “close allies and partners”.
