Ketrin Armstrong
BBC News
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that "Europe will not bow to blackmail and threats" from US President Donald Trump over tariffs over Greenland.
In a joint statement, she and other European leaders said that Trump's plan threatens to trigger a "dangerous spiral" of jeopardizing relations with the US.
"NATO has been telling Denmark for 20 years that it 'must remove the Russian threat from Greenland'. [...] Now is the time and it will be done!!!", Trump wrote on social media.
The US president previously threatened to impose 10 percent tariffs on eight US allies, including the UK, if they oppose his proposed takeover of the autonomous Danish territory.
Greenland is a sparsely populated but resource-rich territory, and its location between North America and the Arctic makes it favorable for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks and for tracking ships in the region.
Trump insists that Greenland is crucial to US security and has not ruled out the possibility of taking it by force, which has been criticized by many.
In a post on his platform Istina (Social Truth), Trump said that Denmark "has not been able to do anything about" Russian threats to Greenland over the past 20 years.
New tariffs will be imposed on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
In a joint statement, the eight countries said that "customs threats undermine transatlantic relations," reiterating their "full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland."
European countries also said that, as members of the military-political alliance NATO, they are "committed to strengthening Arctic security as a common transatlantic interest."
"We are ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, which we firmly stand behind," the statement said.
"We want to cooperate and we are not the ones looking for conflict. And I am glad for the consistent messages from the rest of the continent: Europe will not be blackmailed," Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen said in a Facebook post.
"It is even more important that we stand firmly on the fundamental values that created the European community."
Watch the video: Why Trump wants Greenland
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he spoke by phone with Frederiksen on Sunday, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, before speaking with Trump.
A spokeswoman for Starmer's office said he reiterated the position that Greenland's security is a priority for all NATO members.
"He also said that it is wrong to apply tariffs to allies because of the aspiration for collective security of NATO allies," the spokeswoman added.
Trump announced that he would impose 10 percent tariffs on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, which would take effect on February 1, but could later rise to 25 percent.
This measure would last until an agreement is reached on Greenland.
"These countries, playing this very dangerous game, have brought into play a level of risk that is neither sustainable nor sustainable," he wrote, adding: "This is a very dangerous situation for the safety, security and survival of our planet."
The US president insists that Greenland is crucial to US security and has previously said that Washington will take it over "by easy or hard means".
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant told NBC News on January 18 that "Greenland can only be defended if it is part of the United States, and if it is part of America then it will not need to be defended."
"I believe that Europeans will understand that this is best for Greenland, best for Europe and best for the United States," he said.
Speaking to the BBC, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said that mutual respect for sovereignty is non-negotiable and that it is a fundamental principle of international law and cooperation.
"If we want to live in peace and if we want to cooperate on common problems, we must start recognizing each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity," she added.
It is not yet clear how the tariffs will affect those already imposed by Trump on the UK and the EU.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is coordinating the European response to the tariff threat, said he would ask the EU to activate its "anti-coercion instrument" if Trump imposes them.
There is even mention of the possibility that EU abandons earlier trade deal with US.
According to the agreement from July last year, exports of goods from the EU to the US are subject to a 15 percent customs duty.
The US and the EU account for almost a third of the world's total trade in goods and services.
US imports from the EU significantly exceed US exports to Europe ($606 billion compared to $370 billion last year), and Trump sees this deficit as a major problem.
Before that agreement, Trump threatened the European Union with 30 percent tariffs on its exports.
The US president is scheduled to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week on the topic of "how can we cooperate in a world of disputes?"
Macron, as well as German and EU leaders, will also attend the annual conference.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will also be at Davos, said his country was "concerned about the recent escalation" and would "significantly increase Arctic security - by strengthening our military and investing in critical infrastructure."
"Canada firmly believes that the best way to secure the Arctic is to work together within NATO," he wrote on X.
Mark Rutte, meanwhile, said he spoke with Trump "regarding the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic."
"We will continue to work on this and I look forward to seeing it in Davos," he added.
In Denmark and Greenland, anger over Trump's threats regarding the island is not abating.
Demonstrations against Trump's plans were held over the weekend in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, as well as in Danish cities.
The demonstrations took place before Trump's threats to impose tariffs.
A representative for the island said that in recent polls, only six percent of Greenlanders said they were in favor of being part of the United States, while 85 percent were against.
A recent poll shows that a majority of Americans also oppose US control of Greenland.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll, released last week, found that only 17 percent of Americans support a U.S. takeover of Greenland, compared to 47 percent who said they oppose Trump's bid to acquire the island.
See: Greenland - why the world's superpowers are racing for control of the Arctic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfjIgUFIa6Y
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Bonus video:
