European leaders warn of ‘dangerous downward spiral’ over Trump’s Greenland threats

“Europe will not be blackmailed,” she writes. “At the same time, it is now even clearer that this is an issue that reaches far beyond our own borders.”

There is no sign, so far, of an urgent meeting of the leaders to show their unity against Trump. There is talk of a meeting of their ambassadors.

While some media outlets are calling this an “emergency” meeting, the European strategy seems designed to avoid a sense of panic.

Trump is using tactics that convey drama and heighten pressure by setting a deadline of February 1 for new tariffs of 10 per cent on the eight countries. He says this will climb to 25 per cent on June 1.

The president seems to take offence at a small military exercise by the eight nations to support Denmark in recent days, in an operation called Arctic Endurance. This involves about 15 personnel from France and the same from Germany, but only a single officer from Britain.

There is not much time for Trump to cool down, but he has pushed back the deadlines with his tariff threats in the past.

This time, the European leaders may want to avoid the impression that they are rushing to compromise. Many of them have a chance to talk to Trump within days, when he attends the World Economic Forum in Davos.

‘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’.

Emmanuel Macron, president of France

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says he hopes to see Trump in Davos. There is no announcement, so far, of a broader summit on the sidelines of the Swiss gathering.

“We do not want a tariff war, but we are not afraid of one,” the Chinese government said last October, during one of several disputes with the US on trade.

For the Europeans, the lesson of the past year is that giving ground to Trump in one argument over tariffs will not bring any genuine certainty because there is likely to be another argument, and another tariff threat.

Extreme move

While there is talk about Europe reacting with decisions on defence, such as threatening to withdraw their support for American bases in their countries, this would be an extreme move that would only weaken security for them all.

The danger to watch for is a decision by Trump to cut military support to NATO forces in Europe, forcing countries to commit more to the alliance. Republicans are declaring he has gone too far with his tariff threat against NATO allies, so they may attempt to restrain him from making things worse.

While the message from Europe may not change Trump’s mind, there is a chance that the counsel from Republican supporters could prevent him from greater damage to the NATO alliance.

The formal rejection from the eight European leaders adds to remarks in the hours after Trump announced his new move.

The most provocative is French President Emmanuel Macron, who seems to draw a parallel between American pressure over Greenland and Russian pressure over Ukraine.

“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,” Macron says on X.

“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.”

Macron, like others, is taking a firm line in public. Now the question is whether Trump thinks better of his decision, or chooses instead to escalate the pressure.

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