An extraordinary meeting of EU leaders over Greenland will be held on January 22 in Brussels, diplomatic sources reported, quoted by BNR.
Meanwhile, the "Financial Times" reported that EU member states are considering imposing tariffs on the US worth 93 billion euros or restricting access for US companies to the bloc's market in response to Donald Trump's threats to NATO allies who oppose his campaign to take control of Greenland.
According to the publication, this move marks the most serious crisis in transatlantic relations in decades. The countermeasures are being designed to give European leaders an edge in key meetings with the US president at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, European officials said. The aim is to reach a compromise that would avoid a deep rift in NATO that would pose an existential threat to Europe’s security.
The list of tariffs was drawn up last year but was suspended until February 6 to avoid a full-scale trade war. Its reactivation has been discussed by the permanent representatives of the member states.
"There are clear tools to respond if this continues. Trump is using purely mafia methods", a European diplomat told the "Financial Times". "At the same time, we want to publicly call for calm and give him a chance to come down the ladder. The message is a stick and a carrot," he added.
Germany could significantly increase the rent to the US for the use of military facilities on its territory in response to the US tariffs, the British newspaper The Times reported, citing a source in Berlin.
According to him, the option of closing US military bases in Germany is not being considered. The Daily Telegraph and The Economist have already reported on the possibility of such a scenario.
On January 17, US President Donald Trump announced in Truth & Social that the United States would begin imposing 10% tariffs on the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France and Sweden, which would remain in force until the countries reach an agreement on the “full and complete acquisition“ of Greenland by Washington. This decision takes effect on February 1, and on June 1 the tariff rate will increase to 25%.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark. In 1951, Washington and Copenhagen signed a treaty to defend the island, in addition to their NATO obligations. Under it, the United States pledged to defend Greenland from possible aggression.