“Long live Europe!” With this defiant and resolute commitment to European independence and sovereignty, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ended her speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos (WEF). The first day of this year’s WEF was all about the dispute with the US government over Greenland.
US President Donald Trump is expected in Davos on Wednesday and will give a speech at the congress center in the afternoon. At the forefront of the debates is his intention to somehow incorporate the island of Greenland, which belongs to the EU and NATO member Denmark, into the USA. There will be negotiations on the sidelines of the WEF, in which Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz will also take part.
Von der Leyen said that the sovereignty of Denmark and therefore Greenland was “non-negotiable”. The new threat of higher import tariffs on European goods, with which Trump is trying to enforce his territorial claims, “is a mistake,” said the EU President. The conflict “only helps our opponents,” which meant, among other things, Russia.
With regard to the EU-US customs agreement agreed in 2025, von der Leyen said: “A deal is a deal, a handshake has to mean something.” And she threatened back: “Our response will be proportional” if the US imposes additional tariffs on EU products. She left it open what that means in concrete terms – EU tariffs could possibly be set on US imports worth a good 90 billion euros. The EU governments are discussing this week.
Offers to Trump
At the same time, von der Leyen made offers to the US government. Europe is heavily involved in the Arctic region to ensure security against Russia and China, for example. We work with the USA, Canada and Great Britain, among others. The Commission President called for additional commitment: “In particular, I believe that we should use our additional spending in the defense sector for a European icebreaker fleet.”
Von der Leyen also explained what “a new form of European independence” means in economic terms. After trade agreement just signed between the EU and the South American confederation Mercosur will hopefully soon be followed by “the mother of all” trade agreements – a comprehensive agreement with India. The EU politician wants to travel there next weekend. This contract will cover “two billion people” and a “quarter of global economic output”.
In addition, the boss promoted foreign investments in Europe. As in Davos a year ago, she now again announced the “28th regime”. This refers to a planned regulation for companies that would grant them equal conditions in all 27 EU member states.
French President Emmanuel Macron also argued in this direction when he spoke in the large hall on Tuesday afternoon. In a time when there is “autocracy versus democracy,” one should “not passively accept the law of the strongest.” As part of its presidency of the G7 group of the largest Western economies this year, France wants to promote “effective cooperation”.
In this sense, Macron Trump proposed a meeting of the G7 states with Russia and Denmark this Thursday in Paris. He combined the offer with the point that Europe has “strong instruments” of resistance. One will not hesitate to use them. “We value the rule of law more than brutality,” the French president said at the end of his speech.
Trump had previously threatened Paris with high tariffs on wine and champagne because France refused to join Trump’s planned “Peace Council”. He also published a text message from Macron that was intended for him on his Truth Social platform and said about Macron at a press conference: “Well, nobody wants him because he will leave office very soon.”