Jean-Claude Juncker, who led the European Commission during US President Donald Trump's first administration, told Euronews that the European Union (EU) "cannot be subjected to neo-colonial behavior" by the United States (US).
As Trump addressed world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, former European Commission President Juncker chose Euronews' flagship program "Europe Today" to comment on Trump's threats to take control of Greenland.
Juncker urged Europeans to rely on diplomacy to resolve tensions with the US, stressing that "the EU has the cards to play."
"We can use all the instruments at our disposal to deeply damage the American economy and we should not refrain from using these tools if necessary," Juncker said.
He was alluding to the anti-coercion instrument, which some EU leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, want to apply against the US.
Nicknamed the “bazooka,” the anti-coercion instrument is a powerful tool adopted in 2023 that allows the EU to punish hostile countries for “economic blackmail” by restricting trade licenses and closing access to the single market.
Juncker has experience working with the US president. He managed to defuse the conflict in 2018, as a trade war was brewing. However, Juncker said the context is very different now.
"I don't think he's listening now," Juncker said of Trump, adding that it was becoming increasingly difficult to talk to him in a friendly way.
Juncker called on the EU to be more decisive towards the US and to show that it is ready to defend European interests.
When asked what he would do if he were still the President of the European Commission, Juncker replied that he would confront the US president and explain that the EU cannot be subjected to any kind of "neocolonial behavior".
"The EU is not a slave to the US. He (Trump) knows that, but he doesn't take it into account, at least not publicly," Juncker said.
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