EU vows ‘unflinching, united and proportional’ response to Trump tariff threat over Greenland

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - The EU will deliver an “unflinching, united and proportional” response to US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs linked to Greenland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen said proposed additional US tariffs were “a mistake,” stressing that the EU and US agreed to a trade deal last July.

“In politics, as in business, a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something,” she said, adding that Europeans consider Americans “not just our allies, but our friends.”

Her remarks came after Trump said Washington would impose 10% tariffs on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland starting Feb. 1, rising to 25% in June, unless a deal is reached for what he called the “complete and total purchase of Greenland” by the US.

Von der Leyen said plunging transatlantic relations into a “downward spiral” would only help “the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.”

She underlined the EU’s full solidarity with Greenland and Denmark, insisting that the territory’s “sovereignty and integrity are non-negotiable.”

She also announced that the bloc is preparing a package to strengthen Arctic security, including a surge in European investment in Greenland to support the local economy and infrastructure, as well as closer cooperation with the US and other partners.

Von der Leyen added that the EU plans to deepen security partnerships with countries including the UK, Canada, Norway, and Iceland, and is preparing a new European security strategy to be published later this year, alongside an upgraded Arctic strategy.