The EU executive said it was seeking engagement with the United States after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on European nations amid tensions over Greenland, but stressed it was prepared to respond if necessary.
“Our priority is to engage, not escalate,” European Union trade spokesman Olof Gill said, adding: “Should the threatened tariffs be imposed, the European Union has tools at its disposal and is prepared to respond,” reports RTE.
EU leaders are due to gather on Thursday evening for an emergency summit.
The urgent talks in Brussels come as the 27-member bloc considers possible countermeasures against the United States should Mr Trump carry out punitive actions against some of Washington’s closest allies, reports RTE.
Mr Trump said on Saturday that he would impose tariffs of up to 25% on European countries – including Denmark, which governs Greenland as an autonomous territory – unless Greenland is handed over to the United States.
Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden responded to the threat with a joint statement over the weekend, reports RTE.
Germany’s vice chancellor Lars Klingbeil, speaking at a Berlin press conference alongside French economy and finance minister Roland Lescure, said Europe’s response could involve three key elements.
First, the existing tariff agreement with the United States would be suspended, he said, reports RTE.
Second, Mr Klingbeil said European tariffs on US imports, currently paused until early February, could be reinstated.
Third, he added that the EU should consider deploying tools available to counter what he described as “economic blackmail” from Washington, reports RTE.
Mr Lescure agreed with Mr Klingbeil that Mr Trump’s threat amounted to “blackmail”.
“Blackmail between allies of 250 years, blackmail between friends, is obviously unacceptable,” the French minister said, reports RTE.
“We Europeans must remain united and coordinated in our response and, above all, be prepared to make full use of the instruments” of the European Union, he said.
“We are determined to defend our sovereignty,” reports RTE.
Mr Klingbeil said the situation had reached its limit when it came to repeated threats from the US president.
“We are constantly experiencing a new confrontation that President Trump is seeking,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr Trump said last night that Denmark has failed to address what he described as the “Russian threat” to Greenland, saying: “Now it is time, and it will be done!”
“NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that “you have to get Russian threat away from Greenland,” Mr Trump said, reports RTE.
“Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Leaders in Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly said the island is not for sale and has no desire to become part of the United States, reports RTE.
Danish and other European officials have also noted that Greenland is already protected under NATO’s collective security arrangements.
EU member states yesterday signalled they may deploy their most severe trade measures against the Trump administration following the imposition of tariffs on countries opposing Mr Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, reports RTE.
After an emergency meeting of EU ambassadors, diplomats said member states would decide after 1 February whether to reinstate €93bn in retaliatory tariffs against the US.
Those measures had been suspended since a framework EU-US trade agreement was reached last summer, reports RTE.
Last night, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held discussions with the NATO secretary general and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the UK, as transatlantic relations continue to deteriorate to their lowest level since the Second World War.
Diplomats said Europe has not yet moved to activate its most punitive trade response, known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument, in reaction to Mr Trump’s imposition of tariffs on eight countries over Greenland, reports RTE.
However, in calling an extraordinary EU leaders’ meeting for Thursday, European Council President António Costa said the bloc was ready to defend itself against any form of coercion.
Member states appear keen to keep diplomatic channels open, while reiterating that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark are non-negotiable, reports RTE.
Attention will now turn to the World Economic Forum, which opens later today in the Swiss resort of Davos.
Eight EU leaders, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, will attend, along with Ms von der Leyen and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, reports RTE.
There will be a coordinated effort to steer Mr Trump away from a trade conflict – or even a military move on Greenland – ahead of his address to the forum on Wednesday afternoon.
However, Mr Trump has a long history of absorbing European praise and diplomacy before later directing hostility and criticism at allies, reports RTE.
Tánaiste Simon Harris is in Brussels attending a meeting of EU finance ministers, expected to focus heavily on concerns over Mr Trump’s tariff threats.
Speaking in advance of the meeting, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance said EU officials had worked last year to reach a tariff agreement with the US to provide economic “certainty and clarity”, reports RTE.
He said the latest threats represent “a clear breach of that agreement”.
Mr Harris said any new tariffs would harm the EU economy, disrupt supply chains and damage open trade, adding such measures must be avoided, reports RTE.
He said: “I intend to raise with my European counterparts the latest economic developments with the US, including those linked to Greenland.
“At a time of heightened global uncertainty, it is vital that we avoid actions that risk further instability, reports RTE.
“The focus must be on working together to protect all of our economies across the EU,” reports RTE.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was important to avoid knee-jerk reactions to the tariff threats.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Helen McEntee said she believes the EU is united in its approach and that trade wars benefit no one, reports RTE.
“From Ireland’s perspective, our view is that the first step needs to be dialogue and engagement, and that even in itself, within the anti-coercion instrument, that is the first step there. How do we engage? What are the options here for us?” reports RTE.
Minister McEntee said Ireland’s support for Greenland is clear and unequivocal and that, despite strong ties with the US, “we will not fail” to call out wrongdoing when it occurs.
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