Greenland is at the center of European politics for another week. On Thursday, the EU heads of state and government will hold an extraordinary summit in Brussels. The day before, U.S. President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, while the European Parliament will discuss relations with the U.S. and decide on the next steps regarding the trade agreements that the EU and the U.S. agreed on last summer.
After Trump's latest tariff threat, all signs indicate that the European Parliament will respond by putting trade approval on hold for the time being.
Double damage?
Swedish members emphasize the importance of listening, above all, to what Denmark and Greenland want in terms of support and action from the EU and NATO.
"We must keep a cool head," said European Parliament member Tomas Tobé (M) at a digital press conference on Friday.
At the same time, it is clear that measures such as punitive tariffs and blocking access to the EU's single market are the strongest weapons Europe can use, even though they risk costing everyone.
"In this area, we could act in a way that would hurt Americans economically - but it would also hurt ourselves," Tobé noted.
“Not blind”
The EU has already increased its political and economic presence in Greenland, and several NATO countries have sent or will send troops to the island. However, if the U.S. really wanted to take the island by force, it is doubtful Europe would have the will or the ability to resist.
Europe could also respond by terminating agreements on U.S. military bases around the continent. But even there the price would be at least as high for Europe, where several countries rely heavily on the U.S. as a guarantor of security and independence.
The situation is already complicated as European security services suddenly have to start thinking about their cooperation with Washington.
"We are not blind to what is happening. We have clear red lines," Francisca Bostyn, head of the Belgian civilian security and intelligence service, told the newspaper Le Soir.
Russia mocks
So far, Greenland's prominence has produced only one winner in Europe: Russia.
The Russian side is happy to exploit the situation to mock the EU and NATO's inability to act.
"Ooh, what are they going to do? Kidnap the U.S. president? Nuclear-bomb the U.S.? Of course not. They'll just give up on Greenland," writes former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev on X.
