European Council President, António Costa has asserted that US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland and impose tariffs on its backers pose a challenge to Europe’s security, principles and prosperity.
He asserted that all these three dimensions are being tested in the current moment of transatlantic relations.
Costa has convened an emergency summit of the leaders of all 27 European Union member states on Thursday.
Trump’s determination to “acquire” Greenland; a mineral-rich, semi autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic region, for what he claims are security reasons, has undermined trust in the United States among allies in Europe and Canada.
Costa said that EU leaders are united on “the principles of international law, territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” something the bloc has underlined in defending Ukraine against invasion by Russia, and which is now threatened in Greenland.
In a speech to EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, he also stressed that only “Denmark and Greenland can decide their future.”
“We stand ready to defend ourselves, our member states, our citizens, our companies, against any form of coercion. And the European Union has the power and the tools to do so.”
António Costa
He also insisted that “further tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and are incompatible with the EU-US trade agreement.” The lawmakers must endorse that deal made last July, but it’s now been put on hold.
Additionally, he asserted that the first way for Europe to become stronger and more sovereign is to remain a firm champion of the international rules-based order, international law and multilateralism.
“We will always uphold the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and defend human dignity and individual freedoms.We cannot accept that the law of the strongest prevails over the rights of the weakest. Because international rules are not optional. And alliances cannot just boil down to a sequence of transactions.
“We cannot accept violations of international law. Anywhere. Whether in Ukraine, Greenland, Latin America, Africa, or in Gaza. We cannot accept violations of human rights – whether in Iran, in Sudan, or in Afghanistan. In times like these principles matter more than ever. Because reliability is strength; and consistency is key.”
António Costa
Trump Using Tariffs As Coercive Instrument
Bernd Lange, Chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, said that Trump is still “using tariffs as a coercive instrument.”
Lange said, “Until the threats over, there will be no possibility for compromise,” describing tariffs as “an attack against the economic and territorial sovereignty and integrity of the European Union.”
EU leaders have been galvanized by Trump’s threats over Greenland, and are rethinking their relations with America, their long-time ally and the most powerful member of NATO.
Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, long a staunch supporter of strong transatlantic ties, posted on social media on Tuesday, “Appeasement is always a sign of weakness.” “Europe cannot afford to be weak — neither against its enemies, nor ally,” he added.
Tusk wrote, “Appeasement means no results, only humiliation. European assertiveness and self-confidence have become the need of the moment.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who manages trade on behalf of the EU, warned that the bloc is “at a crossroads.”
Should tariffs come, she said, “we are fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination.”
In Strasbourg, she told the lawmakers that the commission is working on “a massive European investment surge in Greenland” to beef up its economy and infrastructure, as well as a new European security strategy.
Security around the island itself should be boosted with partners like the UK, Canada, Norway and Iceland, among others, von der Leyen said.
READ ALSO: Trump Calls For Immediate Talks For Greenland Acquisition
