In a wide-ranging speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the sovereignty of the self-ruling Danish territory of Greenland is “non-negotiable,” despite Trump’s repeated promises to annex the arctic island.
In her speech, Von der Leyen warned Team Trump to keep its hands off Greenland and added Europe’s response to Trump’s threats would be “unflinching.”
“Our response will be unflinching, united and proportional,” von der Leyen said, adding the European Union would show “full solidarity” with Greenland and was planning a “massive” increase in European investments in the island.
Over the weekend, Trump announced he will impose tariffs on 8 European countries in order to amp up the pressure for the U.S. to acquire Greenland.
More from Politico:
In a veiled rebuke to Trump, von der Leyen singled out “the people of the United States” as Europe’s friends, calling on Washington to respect the trade deal it struck with the EU last summer in Scotland, which set a tariff ceiling of 15 percent on most European exports.
“In politics as in business: a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something,” she said, adding Trump’s proposed new tariffs were a “mistake.”
And with Trump dramatically rewriting the transatlantic alliance, “Europe needs to adjust to the new security architecture and realities that we are now facing,” von der Leyen said, adding the “old order” is dead.
Additionally, French President Emmanuel Macron denounced Trump’s “endless accumulation of new tariffs” as “fundamentally unacceptable,” especially when used as “leverage against territorial sovereignty.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Washington to keep its hands off Greenland and said Europe’s response to US President Donald Trump’s threats would be “unflinching.”https://t.co/LEoQhMA8gW
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) January 20, 2026
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