European governments have come to a difficult conclusion: Americans are the bad guys, writes "Politico".
As leaders of the 27 EU countries gather in Brussels for an emergency summit today, that assessment is prevalent in almost every capital in Europe, nine EU diplomats say. These officials come from countries with varying degrees of historical attachment to the US, and they made clear that this mindset is particularly strong in places that previously had the strongest ties to Washington.
A sense of fear and skepticism remains and the summit will go ahead despite Donald Trump announcing late last night that he had reached a deal on Greenland and would still not impose tariffs on European countries - underscoring how the meeting has become more than just another scandal.
The US president's plans for Greenland, which he outlined earlier in the day in Davos, Switzerland, calling for "immediate negotiations" to acquire the island, were the last straw for many leaders. Throughout the first year of his second term, they had clung to the hope that their worst fears for the country that has been the bedrock of European security since 1945 would not come true.
But the time for pleasantries is “over” and “the time has come to stand up to Trump,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former NATO secretary general and former Danish prime minister.
Several of the envoys Politico spoke to for this story said they felt personally betrayed, some of whom studied and worked in the United States or advocated for closer transatlantic relations.
"Our American dream is dead. Donald Trump killed it," declared a diplomat from a European country that is among the bloc's transatlantic champions.
Europe's collective awareness is likely to be evident at the summit - not least in potential decisions to prepare for trade retaliation against the US if Trump changes course again and presses ahead with his Greenland claim.
It will also be evident in the conversations the leaders are likely to have with each other privately and then publicly. French President Emmanuel Macron hinted at this in his own speech in Davos, saying that Europe has "very strong tools" at its disposal. and "we have to use them when we are not respected and when the rules of the game are not followed." have gone too far.
"After the arguments of the last few days, we now have to wait and see what substantive agreements will be reached between (NATO Secretary General) Mr. Rutte and Mr. Trump", said German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil. "No matter what solution is found for Greenland, everyone must understand that we cannot sit back, relax and be satisfied".
The moment the US president threatened these tariffs on Saturday was the moment the split "became real", said an EU diplomat.
"Maybe this pressure will buy us a few months, maybe it's something more permanent", commented another, referring to Trump's change of position. "I think Trump's speech earlier today will give food for thought in most, if not all, capitals, whether they were threatened by tariffs or not".
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen summed up the mood in her speech in Davos on Tuesday.
"The world has changed permanently", she said. "We must change with it".
At the summit, EU leaders will discuss the state of transatlantic relations. Before Trump's tariffs were lifted, they were preparing to ask the Commission to prepare its most powerful trade weapon against the United States: the Anti-Coercion Instrument.
The EU created its "trade bazooka" in 2023 to address the threat posed by countries it perceived as hostile, most notably China, which it feared were using their markets and economies to blackmail the EU into doing their bidding. The idea that Brussels would use it against the US was previously unthinkable.
"We are experiencing a major rupture in the world order," said a senior envoy from a country seen in the EU as a key US ally. The leaders will discuss "risk reduction" from the US, the diplomat said - a term previously reserved for the EU's relations with Beijing. "Trust has been lost", they were categorical.
The summit as therapy
The summit will be akin to "therapy", said an EU official familiar with the preparations for the European Council. It will provide an opportunity for leaders to give a concrete response to Trump's Davos speech and subsequent claim of a deal.
The realisation that the US was no longer a reliable ally came gradually. The scales first tipped in that direction in the eyes of European leaders when the Trump administration published its National Security Strategy in early December, in which it promised to promote "patriotic European parties" to the detriment of the EU. (Which may go some way to explaining why some EU leaders, like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, still stick with Trump.)
Trump then renewed his rhetoric about taking over Greenland, the US ambassador to Iceland called himself the governor of the 52nd US state, and Trump sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre saying that not winning the Nobel Peace Prize meant he would "no longer feel obligated to think only about peace".
A senior EU envoy said they were convinced the letter was fake. But its authenticity was later confirmed.
Two senior diplomats compared the current state of the United States to the time before World War II.
"I think we are past Munich," one of them said, referring to the 1938 meeting where Britain, France and Italy appeased Adolf Hitler by allowing him to annex Czechoslovakia. "We realize that appeasement is no longer the right policy."
The sharp decline in US standing has been particularly painful for Denmark, which Trump called "ungrateful" at Davos.
Copenhagen was shocked by his behavior after being among America's friendliest allies for decades. Denmark has deployed forces in support of the United States in some of the most dangerous combat zones in the Middle East, including Helmand province in Afghanistan. The country has suffered some of the highest per capita casualties.
"So many of us studied in the United States, we all wanted to work there," one Danish official said. "This is simply betrayal."