Aus Berlin und Härnösand Hannes Koch and Anne Diekhoff
In the Greenland conflict, negotiations at the World Economic Forum have led to a certain easing of tensions. US President Donald Trump announced a “good deal for everyone” after his conversation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos. However, both of them failed to provide details of the framework agreement. During his speech in the congress center there on Thursday morning, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: “We will protect the far north – as NATO.”
Trump had claimed ownership of Greenlandn, which belongs to EU and NATO member Denmark. During his speech on Wednesday afternoon, he withdrew his threat to use military force. Later in the evening, he announced that he was also foregoing additional punitive tariffs against EU states such as Germany that had rejected US aggression. Denmark was then primarily concerned with the question of what exactly the announced agreement between Trump and Rutte might entail.
The first effort in Copenhagen was to allay fears that the NATO chief would suddenly be negotiating the fate of the country. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized that, of course, he had no mandate at all. Rutte confirmed to her that the meeting was not about the sovereignty of the kingdom. So far, Trump has not been deterred from his annexation mania by NATO support promises or references to the defense agreement between Denmark and the USA that has existed since 1951.
The defense agreement gives the Americans great freedom to increase their military presence in Greenland. Denmark hopes that Trump might now be willing to use this framework after the conversation with Rutte. “I welcome President Trump’s comments,” Merz said. “Conquering land and imposing new tariffs” is “not acceptable”. That “would undermine the alliance.” “We stand up firmly for our sovereignty,” the Chancellor added.
With a view to Greenland and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Merz spoke of a “new world order of the great powers”. This is based on power, strength and violence. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday on the sidelines of the forum that there would be a first-ever trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States and Russia. On Friday and Saturday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet with unnamed Ukrainian and Russian representatives in the United Arab Emirates to discuss aspects of a possible “peace plan.”
Merz warned, without addressing Trump directly: “Autocracies have subjects, democracies have partners and reliable friends.” He announced that Europe would invest “hundreds of billions of euros” in its own security in the coming years. The continent must be able to defend itself and do so quickly in order to support Ukraine. But that only works if the EU members regain their economic strength. Economic and military strength “are complementary, two sides of the same coin,” emphasized the Chancellor.
We will protect the far north – as NATO
Friedrich Merz, Federal Chancellor
Specifically, he explained how the EU wanted to defend its model of “open markets” against autocracies. The focus is on intensifying the exchange with like-minded, sometimes new, partners. According to the free trade agreement with the South American confederation Mercosur – which, however, has now been submitted to the European Court of Justice following a vote by the European Parliament must be made – a similar contract with India is next up. The European Commission is also negotiating agreements with Mexico and Indonesia.
Such contracts are also intended to provide European companies with compensation for sales lost in China or the USA. Merz announced a special EU summit on February 12th to “dismantle over-regulation”. We are working on this particularly with the Italian government of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. It is about “an emergency brake on bureaucracy” and a “modernized EU budget” in order to “put competitiveness at the forefront”. Merz called for “rapid progress on the European capital union” so that local companies would become less dependent on “foreign capital markets”. This is also part of Donald Trump’s sovereignty efforts against the USA.