EU leaders to reassess US ties after Trump’s Greenland threat rattles alliance

EU leaders will rethink their relationship with the United States at an emergency summit on Thursday after President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs — and even military action to acquire Greenland — badly shook confidence in the transatlantic alliance, diplomats said.

Trump abruptly stepped back on Wednesday from his threat to impose tariffs on eight European countries, ruled out using force to take Greenland — a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark — and suggested a deal was in sight to defuse the dispute.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Trump’s U-turn on Greenland but urged European leaders not to rush to abandon the transatlantic partnership.

However, EU governments remain wary of another reversal by what many see as an unpredictable president, and are focused on developing a longer-term strategy for dealing with the United States under the current administration and possibly its successors.

“Trump crossed the Rubicon. He might do it again. There is no going back to what it was,” one EU diplomat said. “And leaders will discuss it.”

Another diplomat said the bloc needed to reduce its heavy dependence on Washington across multiple areas. “We need to try to keep him close while working on becoming more independent from the US. It is a process, probably a long one.”

EU reliance on the US

After decades of relying on the United States for defence within NATO, the EU still lacks key intelligence, transport, missile defence and production capabilities needed to defend itself against a potential Russian attack — giving Washington significant leverage.

The United States is also Europe’s largest trading partner, leaving the EU vulnerable to Trump’s use of tariffs both to reduce the US trade deficit and to pursue broader political objectives, as illustrated by the Greenland dispute.

“We need to discuss where the red lines are, how we deal with this bully across the Atlantic, and where our strengths are,” a second EU diplomat said.

“Trump says no tariffs today, but does that mean no tariffs tomorrow? Or will he quickly change his mind again? We need to discuss what to do then,” the diplomat added.

Before Trump backed down, the EU had been considering retaliatory tariffs worth 93 billion euros ($108.74 billion) on US imports, or the use of anti-coercion measures — despite acknowledging that such steps would damage both economies.

What’s the Greenland deal?

Several diplomats said details remained scarce on the framework agreement for Greenland reached late Wednesday between Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Nothing much changed. We still need to see the details of the Greenland deal,” a third diplomat said. “We are fed up with the bullying, and we need to act — more resilience, unity, competitiveness, and no more accepting tariff threats.”

Rutte told Reuters on Thursday that under the framework deal, Western allies would increase their presence in the Arctic. He added that talks would continue among Denmark, Greenland and the United States on specific issues.

Diplomats stressed that while Trump’s reversal had reduced the immediate urgency of Thursday’s emergency talks in Brussels, the broader question of how to manage relations with Washington remained unresolved.

“The united front in solidarity with Denmark and Greenland, combined with de-escalation, has worked,” a fourth EU diplomat said. “At the same time, we need to reflect on the state of the relationship and how we want to shape it going forward, given the experiences of the past week — and year.”