European Council President Antonio Costa announced that he plans to convene an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders on Greenland in the coming days due to the gravity of the recent events in Greenland and to further coordinate EU actions.
According to EU sources, the meeting would take place in Brussels this Thursday, Jan. 22, and the leaders would participate in person, writes wPolityce.
In a statement today, Costa acknowledged that he has consulted with member states on the recent tensions over Greenland. He emphasized that the discussions showed that the EU is aligned on the principles of international law, territorial integrity, and national sovereignty, as well as on support and solidarity with Denmark and Greenland.
U.S. President Trump announced that he will impose 10 percent tariffs on eight European countries for their stance on his claim to Greenland. The tariffs are set to rise to 25 percent in June and remain in effect until the U.S. reaches an agreement to purchase the island, which is a Danish autonomous territory.
Costa said EU countries agree that the tariffs threatened by Trump would weaken transatlantic relations and are inconsistent with the EU-US. trade agreement. They also recognize the shared transatlantic interest in maintaining peace and security in the Arctic, particularly through NATO action.
He also stressed that the EU is ready to defend itself against all forms of coercion and expresses its readiness to continue constructive cooperation with the United States “on all issues of common interest.”
Several countries have sent troops to the island this past week, including a 15-member reconnaissance team from Germany, although this group has reportedly gone home after just two days due to adverse weather conditions.
Yesterday afternoon, an emergency meeting of EU ambassadors was held in Brussels to discuss EU-U.S. relations and efforts taken to date to coordinate their approach.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X that she discussed Greenland with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“Together we stand firm in our commitment to uphold the sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark. We will always protect our strategic economic and security interests. We will face these challenges to our European solidarity with steadiness and resolve,” she wrote Sunday evening.
Trump is now saying the U.S. needs Greenland to protect against Russia, however, Denmark is also a NATO country.
“NATO has been telling Denmark for 20 years that ‘you must remove the Russian threat from Greenland.’ Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now the time has come, and it will happen!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Meanwhile, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a statement that “Europe will not allow itself to be blackmailed by US President Donald Trump.”
“At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Greenland issue extends beyond Denmark. It is all the more important that we uphold the fundamental values that created the European community. We want to cooperate, and we are not the ones seeking conflict,” she emphasized.
NATO head Mark Rutte has also reportedly spoken with Trump by phone, posting on X that they will “continue working on this, and I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week.” Given his position as head of NATO and Trump’s insistence on aggressively taking over a self-governing territory belonging to another NATO member, many have been confused by Rutte’s weak and quiet stance thus far.
