LONDON — European leaders warned of a “downward spiral” in relations with Washington on Sunday after President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on eight countries unless they acquiesce to his bid to acquire Greenland.
They projected unity over the weekend as diplomats worked on a formal response ahead of an emergency summit Sunday afternoon. “We will not let ourselves be blackmailed,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Saturday on X, while French President Emmanuel Macron said “no intimidation nor threat will influence us.”
Trump said Saturday he would impose a 10 percent tariff hike on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland — all of whom recently deployed troops to Greenland — until the U.S. strikes a deal to obtain the semiautonomous Danish territory, which he has coveted for its strategic Arctic location and natural resources.
In a statement Sunday, the eight countries said they are united with Denmark and Greenland. “We stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement read. “Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has tried to position himself as a bridge between Trump’s Washington and Europe, used some of his strongest language to date to condemn the president’s threats. “Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong,” he said in a statement Saturday.
While the German government issued a muted statement promising to coordinate a response with European allies, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Sunday: “We will not be blackmailed.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is considered one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, described the tariffs as “an error.”
Because the European Union is a single trading and customs bloc, the imposition of tariffs against some would effectively mean tariffs on all 27 nations, European officials said.
The scope of Europe’s response will be a key test for its diplomats as they balance the need to stand up for European sovereignty, manage delicate relationships with Washington and consider political and economic pressures at home. Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the E.U., said European ambassadors will convene Sunday afternoon in Brussels to discuss next steps.
“European leaders including the UK have tried not to provoke Trump,” Bronwen Maddox, director of London’s Chatham House think tank, said in a text message Sunday. “But this is such an offense against their principle and interests that they will stand up to say so and may hit back with sanctions, too.”
The threat to grab a sovereign territory of Denmark against its will risks fundamentally breaking the NATO defense alliance, which European diplomats said would divide the West and embolden Moscow and Beijing. “China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among Allies,” Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s top diplomat, said Saturday.
On Monday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt are scheduled to visit NATO’s headquarters in Brussels for a preplanned meeting with Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Denmark and Greenland’s foreign ministers said Wednesday that they had no intention of ceding control of Greenland to Washington. After meeting at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the diplomats said that “fundamental disagreements” remained but that they would continue talking.
Greenland, with its population of 57,000, has been part of the kingdom of Denmark for centuries but has gained more autonomy in recent decades. Opinion polls show that the vast majority of its inhabitants oppose being taken over by Washington.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers also traveled to Denmark to assure its leaders that most Americans — and many members of Congress — do not support Trump’s bid to annex or buy Greenland.
Trump has contended that China or Russia will take over Greenland if the United States does not, but European officials say there are no indications of plans by Moscow or Beijing to conquer the territory. They say there is no barrier to Washington increasing its troop presence on the territory, which already hosts the U.S. military’s Pituffik Space Base.
Ellen Francis in Brussels contributed to this report.
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