European leaders have sharply condemned United States President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on countries that resist his push to take over Greenland, warning the move risks plunging transatlantic relations into a “dangerous downward spiral”.
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, eight European countries targeted by Trump’s proposed tariffs said they “stand in full solidarity” with Denmark and the people of Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory at the centre of the dispute.
“Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind,” Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom said. “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”
The unusually blunt rebuke came as European officials prepared for emergency talks aimed at coordinating a response to what many now see as Trump’s most aggressive pressure campaign against US allies yet.
European Council President Antonio Costa said on Sunday that the bloc was united around defending national sovereignty and ready to “defend ourselves against any form of coercion”, ahead of an extraordinary meeting of EU member states expected in the coming days.
Officials are expected to weigh a range of countermeasures, including retaliatory tariffs and potential market restrictions on US companies operating in Europe.
Trump announced on Saturday that the eight countries would face a 10 percent tariff from February 1, rising to 25 percent from June 1, unless they agree to a deal allowing the United States to buy Greenland.
According to the Financial Times, European leaders are considering tariffs on up to 93 billion euros worth of US goods, alongside the possible activation of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument, often referred to as the bloc’s “trade bazooka”.
Adopted in 2023 but never used, the mechanism allows the EU to impose sweeping restrictions, including limits on foreign investment and the withdrawal of intellectual property protections for companies from countries deemed to be engaging in economic coercion.
“The Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), designed precisely for such cases, must now be used,” said German MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, in a post on X. “I call on the European Commission to activate it immediately.”
Trump’s insistence on US control over Greenland has driven relations between Washington and Europe to their lowest point in decades, raising fresh questions about the durability of NATO. Trump has not ruled out using military force to seize the territory, a stance that has alarmed allies bound by the alliance’s core principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
Despite those concerns, Trump has brushed aside warnings about fracturing the 32-member alliance. Early on Monday, he doubled down on his position in a social media post, claiming Denmark had been “unable to do anything” to counter Russian threats to Greenland.
“Now it is time, and it will be done!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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