Representatives of European Union member states will meet in a special session today after US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs over Greenland, the German news agency dpa reports.
Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, announced late yesterday that an extraordinary meeting at the ambassadorial level had been convened in response to the latest announcements by the United States.
Trump said the US would impose additional 10% tariffs on imports from eight European countries starting February 1 over the dispute over Greenland. He has repeatedly said he wants to own Greenland to ensure security in the Arctic, given the threat he sees from China and Russia.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network that the tariffs would apply to all U.S. imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland. The tariffs will rise to 25 percent starting in June if a deal is not reached to buy Greenland.
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Largely autonomous Greenland is part of the territory of Denmark, a NATO member. Greenland has said it does not want to become part of the United States, and NATO members believe that Washington does not need control of the island to protect the Arctic.
It is not known whether possible countermeasures will be discussed at today's meeting, Hina reports.
The EU has an instrument to defend itself against trade pressure, i.e. in situations where a third country tries to use trade measures to force the bloc or one of its members to make a certain decision. The instrument allows for the introduction of counter-tariffs and many other measures, but is intended for situations where all other options have been exhausted.
The countries threatened with tariffs by Trump this week announced the deployment of military personnel for a reconnaissance mission to Greenland as part of the Danish "Arctic Endurance" exercise, organized with NATO allies.
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