The European Union will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday evening to discuss relations with the United States. The meeting was called after repeated threats by President Trump to take control of Greenland and introduce new trade tariffs.
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Even though President Trump has withdrawn the sanctions after talks within NATO, European leaders are going ahead with the meeting. “We stand ready to defend ourselves, our member states, our citizens, our companies, against any form of coercion,” said EU Council President António Costa.
Protect European territory
The meeting, described as an “informal summit”, will mainly focus on creating a united European position to support Denmark and Greenland. EU leaders will also discuss how to better protect European territory, how to maintain peace and security in the Arctic region, and how to respond if new US trade tariffs are introduced.
António Luís Santos da Costa, President of the European Council, said: “Russia’s war of aggression, the international rules-based order being undermined, core alliances being questioned – the geopolitical challenges Europe is facing sometimes seem daunting. But the EU will come out of this stronger, more resilient and more sovereign. Our response must have three components: A Europe of principles, a Europe of protection and a Europe of prosperity.”
Strong countermeasures still on the table?
Several European countries have warned in recent days that they are ready to take strong countermeasures. It remains unclear whether these plans are still on the table, now that President Trump has pulled back the tariffs and said he does not intend to take Greenland by force. However, Trump’s rapidly changing positions have damaged trust among European leaders in the US as a reliable ally.
All eyes are now on the outcome of Thursday’s meeting, which begins at 7:00 pm in Brussels.
