(Nuuk) The Americans showed no sign of appeasement towards the Europeans on Monday, warning them that it “would be very ill-advised” to respond to threats of customs surcharges brandished by Donald Trump as long as Greenland is not in the hands of the United States.
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The American president had said earlier, in a message to the Norwegian prime minister, that he no longer felt obliged to think “only about peace” since he did not win the Nobel Prize.
Tensions between Europeans and Americans sent major European stock markets tumbling on Monday, after Donald Trump threatened to impose new customs surcharges on eight European countries – including France, the United Kingdom and Germany – due to their opposition to Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, and the European Union promised a response.
“I think it would be very ill-advised,” warned US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to reporters before the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
PHOTO MARKUS SCHREIBER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
“The president (Trump) sees Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States. We are not going to outsource security in our hemisphere to anyone else,” he said.
“Common interests”
The EU, for its part, continues to advocate “dialogue” rather than “escalation”, while affirming that it has “tools” and is “ready to react” in the event that the American president were to carry out his threats in the commercial field.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in this regard that she had insisted on “the need to unequivocally respect” the sovereignty of Greenland and Denmark during a meeting on Monday with a bipartisan delegation from the American Congress at the Davos Forum.
“At the same time, the European Union remains ready to continue working closely with the United States, NATO and other allies, in close cooperation with Denmark, to advance our common security interests,” she added.
PHOTO YIANNIS KOURTOGLOU, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
These American pressures do not change the position of Greenland, concerned about its right to self-determination and its sovereignty, affirmed its Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
In this he is supported by many of his fellow citizens, such as Hans Zeeb, who, interviewed by AFP at a bus stop in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, “finds it a real shame what Trump is doing”, because, he says, “Greenland is not for sale”.
The American president “should stay away from us, because we live here in peace, without worries,” adds Nina Carlsen, a 52-year-old office worker.
European leaders are meeting Thursday evening in an extraordinary summit in Brussels to discuss Donald Trump’s recent comments on Greenland and customs duties.
The French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, intends to request the activation of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument, which makes it possible to limit imports from a country or its access to certain public markets and to block investments.
To try to reduce the risks of a deterioration of the situation, the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, announced that he would “try to meet President Trump on Wednesday”. That same day, the issue of Greenland will be addressed by the finance ministers of the G7, which includes the United States.
“No written document”
In a letter addressed to the Norwegian Prime Minister and made public on Monday, Donald Trump announced that he no longer felt obliged to think “only about peace” because he had not won the Nobel Prize.
“Since your country has decided not to award me the Nobel Peace Prize for ending “MORE” eight wars, I no longer feel obliged to think only about peace,” the American president wrote to Jonas Gahr Store.
PHOTO SAUL LOEB, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
President Donald Trump welcomed Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to the White House on April 24, 2025.
On Greenland, he continues, “there is no written document” proving that it belongs to Denmark “but, hundreds of years ago, a ship docked there and we too docked there.”
This missive was received in response to a message from Mr. Store and the Finnish President, Alexander Stubb, in which they expressed their “opposition to these increases in customs duties announced against Norway, Finland and certain other countries”, explained the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office.
In his message to the Prime Minister, Donald Trump reiterates his wish to see the United States take control of Greenland.
“Denmark cannot protect this territory against Russia or China”, he assures, considering that “the world will not be safe until we have Total and Absolute Control of Greenland”.
Faced with this, Denmark and Greenland have proposed the creation of a NATO surveillance mission for this immense island, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on Monday.
