It hasn’t been a full year since European leaders scrambled for President Trump’s second term, and now this rollercoaster ride feels like it’s reached its most dangerous turn yet.
The occupant of the White House hangs the threat of economic sanctions on the heads of countries that support the territorial integrity of an EU member, Denmark.
Leaders will hold an emergency EU summit on this in the coming days. If the European Union fights similar measures, then it risks a full-scale trade war with the US.
If it doesn’t work, will Trump conclude that the bloc of 27 is weak, divided and too scared to stop his threat to take Greenland – by buying it or taking it with military force?
French President Emmanuel Macron says it’s time to use the EU’s “trade bazooka” for the first time. This is the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which will allow Europe to return to counter-tariffs, restrict access to the Single Market and block applications for beneficial EU contracts.
There is a great irony that this weapon was originally designed to overcome any bullying interference from a hostile external power.
They think of China, not the US.
Here and now, some EU leaders are tired of Macron’s approach. Among them is Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who enjoys a better-than-most relationship with Trump.
He spoke of a “problem of understanding and communication” in the recent deployment of troops to Greenland by some European countries, including Denmark, but did not expand on what may have been misunderstood.
If the intention is to appease Trump and suggest that he is absolutely right that the security of the Arctic needs to be improved, the sight of the soldiers only seems to provoke him to make his latest threat.
Meloni’s explanation of something lost in translation opens the door to a more diplomatic approach to dealing with this dangerous EU-US crisis.
Sunday’s emergency meeting in Brussels of EU ambassadors was a cautious affair, unlike the usual top level summits where traffic comes to a standstill, roads are closed and leaders flock to the cameras to express their thoughts.
It’s unclear who will make the next move and whether Trump will take the heat from his latest threat or actually double down on it.
EU action on something so sensitive cannot be done quickly and unanimously.
Europe is trying to comfort President Trump in his second term as much as they can. Some call it clever, others hypocritical.
But now, there’s a distinct feeling that he’s not just pulling the Transatlantic diplomatic drawbridge, but threatening to blow it up completely.