Khaberni - On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faced threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose additional tariffs on several European countries that oppose his ambitions to acquire the autonomous Danish region of Greenland.
Macron said he intended to "activate the European Union's anti-coercion mechanism" if Trump carried out his threats to impose additional tariffs on European products.
This mechanism, which requires activation by a qualified majority of EU member states, allows particularly freezing access to European public procurement markets or prohibiting certain investments.
A source close to the French President clarified that the American trade threats "raise questions about the validity of the customs tariff agreement" made between the European Union and the United States last July.
"Blackmail"
For her part, Meloni, during her visit to the South Korean capital Seoul, told Trump that his threats to impose additional tariffs are a "mistake," and these threats were also described by Dutch Foreign Minister David Van Wiel as "incomprehensible" and "inappropriate."
Van Wiel said on the TV show "WNL Op Zondag," "It's a blackmail. What he (Trump) is doing now is blackmail," while his Irish counterpart Helen McEntee considered these threats "totally unacceptable and very unfortunate."
British Culture Minister Lisa Nandi stated in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), "Considering the context, we believe that this fuss about tariffs is mistaken. We think it is completely unnecessary, harmful, and futile."
Since returning to power a year ago, the American president has often spoken about controlling the vast island located between North America and Europe, justifying it on grounds of national security in light of Russian and Chinese advances in the Arctic.
Trump escalated his tone on Saturday following the deployment of European military personnel to the island in recent days as part of Danish maneuvers.
He wrote on his platform "Truth Social": "Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland went to Greenland for an unknown purpose. (...) These countries, which are playing this very dangerous game, have adopted a level of risk that is unacceptable and unsustainable."
Emergency meeting
Trump's irritation led him to threaten new customs tariffs on the involved countries until "an agreement on the full and comprehensive purchase of Greenland" is reached.
These additional tariffs, amounting to 10%, will come into effect starting February 1st and may rise to 25% on June 1st.
In response to these threats, an emergency meeting of EU country ambassadors is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Brussels.
In parallel, the Danish Foreign Minister started a diplomatic tour on Sunday that includes Norway, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, three allied countries and members of the NATO, to discuss enhancing the alliance's role in the security of the Arctic region.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen is scheduled to visit Oslo on Sunday, then London on Monday, and Stockholm on Thursday.
On Saturday, thousands of people, especially in Copenhagen and Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, demonstrated against these regional ambitions, chanting "Greenland is not for sale."
According to the latest poll published in January 2025, 85 percent of Greenland's population opposes joining the United States, while only 6 percent support it.
