For better or for worse theEuropean Union continues to play defense in the face of surprise moves from Donald Trump which however mark the end of the multilateral system as we have known it from the end of the war until today and which open up new and unforeseeable prospects in relations between the two sides of the Atlantic in terms of security and trade.
US-EU: No to the trade bazooka against Trump
Yesterday evening the 27 European leaders met in Brussels to discuss the transatlantic relations after the threats launched by the American president on Greenland but then denied by Davos with a unspecified framework agreement reached with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark RutteThis was not enough to reassure European leaders who were also concerned about the creation of a paid "private UN", the “Board for Peace for Gaza” which in Europe only Hungary and Bulgaria have officially decided to join while Italy e Germany they maintain a more dialoguing position but without any signature.
The President of the United States on Wednesday Donald Trump He backtracked on his most bellicose threats to wrest Greenland from Denmark, but that did little to calm governments' nerves about America's position toward Europe.
US-EU, towards a new chapter in transatlantic relations
“The world has changed permanently,” began the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Davos and therefore "we must change with him," he added. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja kallas emphasized the unity of the EU which “brings results” but the Danish Prime Minister Puts Frederiksen He insisted that the red line will always remain the sovereignty of the national territory. Frederiksen said that Denmark and Greenland are willing to work with the United States to consolidate their 1951 Defense Agreement, which allowed the Americans to establish military bases in Greenland.
“If such an agreement can be expanded, it is certainly not something we would reject from the Danish or Greenlandic side,” he added, stressing that Denmark has cooperated with the United States for many years on of your digital ecosystem. and that any changes to their agreement must be made appropriately with all three parties involved.
US-EU, from Brussels: keep dialogue with Washington open
At the end of last night's long working dinner, the will to finally emerge keep the dialogue with Washington open avoiding putting into practice the so-called “commercial bazooka” of coercive measures that were being prepared against the US before Trump's backtracking. Indeed, the aim is to finalize them as soon as possible. the transatlantic trade agreement reached in Scotland in July, the ratification of which had been put in doubt by the same EPP (von der Leyen's own party) in the face of Trump's threats. But yesterday morning, during the Coreper meeting ahead of the summit, none of the 27 ambassadors opposed the agreement's entry into force. In other words, there is a desire for a return to normality which should be in the interest of both sides of the Atlantic across which they transit every day goods and services worth $4 billion.
The US ambassador to the EU himself, Andrew Puzder He encouraged the agreement's swift approval, criticizing those who see Trump as a threat to transatlantic relations, arguing that “the real instability stems from the EU itself's failure to act on the historic trade deal negotiated by Presidents Trump and von der Leyen last summer.”
The first part of the summit was dedicated to the resumption of the process of the EU-US trade agreement with a discussion in which the President of the European Parliament took part. Metsola.
Unpredictability is the key word in transatlantic relations this year, Kallas noted, and "that's what we're experiencing." Kallas added that Europe must focus on the real threat, which is the war in Ukraine"We haven't seen any concessions from Russia," he said. "Any disagreement between allies only benefits the adversaries; we're not willing to throw away 80 years of good transatlantic relations."
US-EU, Macron and Merz's position
For the French president Emmanuel Macron The EU has demonstrated its support for Denmark, demonstrating that the Union is united and strong. "I welcome the fact that we started the week with an escalation, with threats of invasion and tariffs, and now we've returned to a situation that I find much more acceptable, even if we remain vigilant."
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appreciated the attempt to preserve the NATO. “This transatlantic alliance cannot simply be abandoned. We have built it over 75 years.”
