Greenland as a turning point: Is Europe ending its appeasement strategy with Trump?
European leaders are escalating their rhetoric against the US president and are already preparing for a possible new attack from the White House.
BrusselsEuropean leaders seem to understand that kind words don't work with Donald Trump. Even though key US allies have conceded on almost everything, the Republican leader is never satisfied. The tycoon hasn't been content after achieving a trade agreement with the European Union clearly favorable to US interests nor afterwards force NATO's European partners to increase His military spending and increased aid to Ukraine with weapons manufactured in the United States. Trump has continued to humiliate and attack Europe until, finally, the last straw seemed to break the camel's back for EU leaders: threats to invade European territory and, moreover, apply new tariffs in the countries who wanted to defend Greenland's sovereignty and Denmark's territorial integrity.
The change in tone from US allies in recent days is evident, and this was clear at the Davos Forum and the European Council this week. One of the harshest, and one that has garnered the most headlines, has been Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, either French President Emmanuel MacronBut leaders who have typically been more lukewarm toward the New York tycoon have also shown their teeth, such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Even the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, has spoken out against the White House occupant, something she usually avoids due to the sensitivity of her position. "This is the biggest wake-up call we've had, [...] Europe must analyze and decide what it wants to do to strengthen itself," said the French leader. The only one who continues to praise Trump unequivocally, and hails him as the savior of Europe and NATO, is the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance himself, Mark Rutte. "We are lucky to have him," the former Dutch Prime Minister insisted on Tuesday.
He The Canadian prime minister directly proclaimed "the breakdown of the world order"This isn't a new reflection, and it's been circulating for some time, especially since Trump's return, which has been making headlines and filling newspaper pages. However, it hadn't yet come from a leader of Canada's stature. But now, he's not the only leader of the allied countries to say it openly and publicly advocate for "middle powers," especially European ones, to "work together" and be capable of confronting Trump, Vladimir Putin, or Xi Jinping.
Merz himself, the leader of the EU's most influential power, has urged his counterparts not to succumb to the designs of the "new world order" and to join forces to stop being "at the mercy" of the interests and rhythms dictated by the United States and China. And, echoing Von der Leyen, he warned that the European bloc doesn't intend to shrink from any new threat and will respond "in a united, firm, and proportionate manner."
Beyond words, the EU also It bares its teeth with countermeasuresThe European bloc has indefinitely put all its tools on the table to deal with a new situation as unprecedented as that of the past week and has threatened to activate them if Trump retaliates. The member state that has exerted the most pressure in this regard has been France. Macron is publicly advocating for activating what is known as... bazookawhich is a legal framework that allows the halting of imports and exports with a specific third country or, among other things, directly attacking large US technology companies.
Another option the EU has up its sleeve is a list of tariffs against US products worth around €93 billion. The European bloc froze it when they finalized the trade agreement with the US, but it can reactivate it quickly enough if relations sour again. Von der Leyen made it clear this Friday at the White House that these weapons are being kept in reserve. "We are prepared with trade countermeasures and also non-tariff instruments," the President of the European Commission warned.
A point of no return
European leaders are breathing a sigh of relief at Trump's slowdown, but they haven't forgotten the unprecedented threats to transatlantic relations, and at Thursday's European summit, they vowed to prepare for a potential new crisis with the United States. The consensus among heads of state and government is that the past week has marked a turning point, and European leaders seem to have learned a lesson: whether by chance or design, when they stopped pandering to him and raised their voices, the US president backed down. For this reason, the vast majority of leaders advocate maintaining this stance from now on and abandoning any subservience to the White House occupant. One of those who best summarized the general sentiment of the leaders was Tusk. "Appeasement is always a sign of weakness. Europe cannot afford weakness, neither towards its enemies nor towards its allies. Appeasement produces no results, only humiliation. A firm European stance and self-confidence have become the necessity of the moment," said the Polish Prime Minister.