Brussels breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday when Trump announced he was stepping back from threats of imposing tariffs on countries sending troops to Greenland, and highlighted a “framework” agreement made with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to resolve the crisis.
Although the details of the agreement—such as whether it honors Denmark’s demand to maintain full sovereignty over the island—remain unclear, the situation demonstrated the EU’s effectiveness when acting together. It showed its capacity to retaliate and willingness to take definitive actions, like deploying troops to bolster Arctic security in the Danish-controlled territory, according to two EU diplomats and two senior EU officials. They shared this information with POLITICO under the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.
“The fact that after those threats were made, the EU coordinated and reacted very quickly, in a firm and calm manner, with clear principled positions—this certainly influenced the subsequent reaction,” stated a senior EU official.
The EU is leveraging months of experience in dealing with the Trump administration, particularly from last summer when deciding on a U.S.-EU trade deal, according to a senior diplomat.
Before the agreement, EU leaders publicly disagreed on how to address Trump’s threats of substantial tariffs for several weeks.
Even though there wasn’t complete consensus among leaders regarding Trump’s Greenland threats, France and Germany’s quick agreement to prepare the use of the Anti-Coercion Instrument against the U.S.—a robust trade retaliation measure—indicated the bloc’s increased decisiveness in its responses.
Leave a Reply