EU leaders have expressed relief after US President Donald Trump withdrew threats to annex Greenland by force and impose fresh tariffs on certain member states. At emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday leaders also called for vigilance, unity and the need to defend European interests.
Tensions between the United States and the European Union eased shortly before Thursday's emergency meeting in Brussels when Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he would suspend the tariff threats and would not use force to take control of Greenland – a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump said Thursday that a deal had been reached with NATO's General Secretary Mark Rutte that would provide the US with "total access" to the Arctic island.
"We were successful by being firm," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said, referring to Trump's backtracking.
But the US president's threats badly shook Europe's confidence in its partner, EU officials and leaders said.
"Transatlantic relations have definitely taken a big blow over the last week," the bloc's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said as she arrived at the meeting.
"Things are quietening down and we should welcome that," said French President Emmanuel Macron.
"We remain extremely vigilant and ready to use the instruments at our disposal should we find ourselves the target of threats again," he told reporters, referring to "bazooka" trade sanctions the bloc had considered using.
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Goal remains stability
European Council President Antonio Costa said the leaders believed it was "very important to preserve and cherish our transatlantic partnership", despite what he described as a period of unpredictability.
Costa also warned that the EU would "stand up for its interests and will defend itself, its member states, its citizens and its companies against any form of coercion".
The emergency summit, convened to reassess the EU-US relationship, did not reach any formal decisions, but Costa said the immediate priority was to implement the EU-US trade deal agreed in July 2025.
The United States remains the EU’s largest trading partner, and "the goal remains the effective stability of the trade relations", he told reporters.
European lawmakers are likely to resume their work on the ratification of the trade deal now that Trump has taken back his threats, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said.
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More support for Greenland
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe had invested "too little in the Arctic and the security of the Arctic".
She confirmed that the Commission wanted to double financial support for Greenland in the next EU budget from 2028 and would soon propose a comprehensive package of investments, without giving further details.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was more than ready to discuss security cooperation in Greenland with the US, as long as it fully respects their sovereignty.
She called for a permanent NATO presence in the Arctic, including around Greenland.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Western allies would step up their presence in the region, without specifying how.
(with newswires)
