Good morning from Brussels.
A common strategy is emerging among EU governments as the reality of the economic and geopolitical risks of US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats sink in: prioritise dialogue and diplomacy, while preparing for the worst.
EU leaders are now geared up for intense shuttle diplomacy between Brussels and the Swiss village of Davos. Trump confirmed earlier that he had spoken to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the phone and agreed to a “meeting of the various parties” in Davos, repeating his claim that Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory, is “imperative” for US national security.
Trump also said overnight of Denmark: “I don’t think they’re going to push back too much. We have to have it (Greenland).”
EU leaders gather for an urgent European Council summit on Thursday evening, with European Commissioners also meeting under the special Security College format on Friday, a source confirmed.
Diplomats and officials speaking to Euronews have spoken of a two-track approach of trying to convince Trump to climb down on his threats while at the same time readying retaliation in time for February 1, when Trump says his tariffs on eight European countries over Greenland will kick in.
While the EU’s trade “bazooka” – a powerful instrument that could shut US companies out of the EU single market – is under discussion, officials say there is very limited appetite to trigger it now. The preferred option is for the EU to allow a freeze on €93 billion of retaliatory tariffs on US goods to expire in early February, in what one diplomat described as a move of “passive retaliation.” Our EU editor Maria Tadeo and I have more.
But there’s also an increasing sense of hope among NATO officials that Trump can be convinced of a “miscommunication” around the scale and nature of the small European troop deployment to Greenland, which triggered his tariff retaliation last week.
Senior sources tell our correspondent Shona Murray that the fact troops are now pulling out of Greenland could serve as an off-ramp for the US to row back on its tariff threats. We have more below.
Also in this packed newsletter, we report on why controversy is mounting over Trump’s controversial Gaza Board of Peace, after France said it wouldn’t accept the invitation to join. Trump has hit back with a threat to slap 200% tariffs on French wines and champagne.
We also bring you the view from Strasbourg as a no-confidence motion in Ursula von der Leyen falls flat, overshadowed by the Greenland feud.
NATO sources ‘cautiously’ optimistic Trump can be convinced Greenland crisis stems from ‘miscommunication’
Sources at NATO have told Euronews they are “cautiously” optimistic that Trump’s latest escalation can be defused, our correspondent Shona Murray reports this morning.
Senior officials believe the decision by eight European allies to announce short-term troop deployments as part of a reconnaissance mission to Greenland might have been “misperceived” by the White House as a statement of defiance, or “sabre-rattling”.
The fact that many of the soldiers are now leaving Greenland – as planned – could help provide an off-ramp for the US to pull back the tariffs, the senior sources say. “I’m cautiously optimistic that things will be settled by the end of the week,” one source said.
The overall intention of Trump in acquiring Greenland, either through coercion or otherwise, remains.
Meanwhile, Nordic ministers convened at NATO on Monday evening to discuss the latest round of threats from the US, reaffirming their solidarity with Denmark, Greenland and defence of the principle of territorial integrity.
Denmark’s Defence Minister, Troels Lund Poulsen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt also met with Secretary General Mark Rutte.
“We are clear that we’re standing on the Denmark side and Greenland side and we’re standing up for their territorial integrity and their sovereignty”, Sweden’s Defence Minister, Pål Jonson told journalists after the Nordic meeting.
“Any disputes between allies should be resolved in peaceful matters”, he said.
Europe’s impossible puzzle: defend Ukraine from Putin and Greenland from Trump
For the past four years, European leaders have been working overtime to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russia’s war of aggression, often putting together strongly worded statements of condemnation, holding phone calls at late hours and getting together for hastily convened crisis meetings.
But now the script has been flipped and Europeans find themselves doing the exact same thing to defend Denmark’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against a country that, on paper, is supposed to be a reliable ally and security guarantor: the United States.
The parallelism has not gone unnoticed among European officials and diplomats, who seriously wonder if the US can still be trusted to design security guarantees for post-war Ukraine.
As my colleague Jorge Liboreiro explains, should Trump make good on his tariff threat over Greenland, Europeans might find it intolerable to continue sitting at the same table as the US to discuss common ways to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty. And even if they do, the lack of credibility and trust could render the entire exercise void and null.
Read Jorge’s full analysis.
Trump threatens tariffs after France rejects his invite to controversial Gaza Board of Peace
France intends to reject Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Gaza Board of Peace, a source close to the Élysée Palace confirmed last night, over fears the US President is aiming to usurp the United Nations, my colleague Marta Pacheco reports.
The charter Trump has drawn up for the board “goes beyond the context of Gaza alone” and “raises major questions, particularly regarding respect for the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot under any circumstances be called into question,” the source said.
Trump snapped back overnight with a threat of 200% tariffs on French wines and champagne, claiming “nobody wants” President Emmanuel Macron because he’s “going to be out of office very soon.”
Confusion is meanwhile mounting over the Board of Peace and its purpose after a leaked draft of its charter – which includes no mention of Gaza – presents the body as an “international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”
Several diplomats share France’s concern that the Board of Peace could undermine the UN or solely serve the United States’ political interests rather than traditional multilateral diplomacy. Trump’s decision to invite Russia’s Putin and Belarus’s Lukashenka also makes it politically untenable for Ukraine’s European allies to sign up.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also received an invitation, Commission spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters on Monday, without revealing if the executive plans to accept.
European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, later urged the inclusion of “all key stakeholders in the board”, adding that she “welcomes the establishment of the Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and the participation of Palestinians in the governance structure”.
The absence of Palestinian representatives on the board has been criticised by the international community. Trump has said that the board’s initial focus is to oversee Gaza’s post-war transition, including by supervising a Palestinian technocratic administration and supporting reconstruction and security efforts.
Also sparking controversy is Trump’s demand for countries joining the board to do so for a standard three-year term, unless they pay up around $1 billion for permanent membership.
Debate of no-confidence in von der Leyen falls flat, overshadowed by Trump tariffs
The European Parliament debated a motion of no-confidence in Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen over the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Monday evening, in front of a hemicycle that was almost empty, our parliament correspondent Vincenzo Genovese writes.
Von der Leyen skipped the debate and was represented instead by Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič, who defended the Mercosur deal and assured sectors including agriculture would be shielded from “any negative consequences.”
Hungarian MEP Kinga Gál, vice-president of the far-right Patriots for Europe group, said von der Leyen’s absence was a “sign of contempt” towards the farmers protesting across Europe against the deal.
All political groups from the left to the centre-right of the parliament expressed their intention to vote against the motion, which is now guaranteed to fail. The vote was always intended to be symbolic, but that symbolism was undermined as Europe’s attention shifted to a potentially looming trade war with Trump over Greenland.
Farmers’ associations are set to protest against the EU-Mercosur deal in front of Strasbourg’s European Parliament later today ahead of a vote tomorrow on whether to bring a legal challenge to the deal before the European Court of Justice.
More from our newsrooms
Europe’s pro-Trump leaders tread carefully as Greenland crisis grows. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Slovakia’s Robert Fico, and Andrej Babiš from the Czech Republic will play a crucial role in any joint EU response to the Trump administration’s threats. Sandor Zsiros explains.
Spain announces three days of mourning after 40 people lose lives in Adamuz tragedy. The death toll from Sunday’s train crash in southern Spain has risen to 40, with at least 39 people held in hospital. Our Madrid bureau hasthe latest.
We’re also keeping an eye on
- The European Parliament’s plenary session continues in Strasbourg
- World Economic Forum continues in Davos
- EU economy and finance ministers gather in Brussels
That’s it for today. Shona Murray, Maria Tadeo, Jorge Liboreiro, Marta Pacheco and Vincenzo Genovese contributed to this newsletter. Remember to sign up to receive Europe Today in your inbox every weekday morning at 08.30.