'Relations with US have taken a big blow', says EU foreign policy chief

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said relations with the US have taken a big blow in the past week, as tensions rose over Greenland and tariff threats during an emergency summit

Transatlantic relations have suffered serious strain over the past week, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, as EU leaders met for an emergency summit amid escalating tensions with the United States over Greenland.

 

Speaking to reporters, Kallas said that the situation had become increasingly unpredictable. “One day, one way; the other day, again, everything could change,” she said, referring to the shifting signals from US President Donald Trump.

 

She said that ties between Europe and the US “have definitely taken a big blow over the last week”, but added that Europe was “not willing to junk 80 years of good relations”.

 

 

After the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU’s united approach and its effort to engage Washington in “a firm but non-escalatory manner” had helped ease tensions.

 

The emergency summit was called earlier this week after Trump threatened to impose 10 per cent tariffs on eight European countries that opposed a US takeover of Greenland, an autonomous territory within Denmark.

 

Summit in Brussels

 

EU leaders gathered in Brussels late on Thursday to review ties with Washington and to revive talks on an EU-US trade deal, Bloomberg reported. The European Parliament had earlier paused ratification of the deal in protest against US pressure over Greenland.

 

While leaders said they want to strengthen cooperation with the United States, they also made it clear they were ready to respond if new threats emerged.   

 

Greenland seeks talks with US

 

Speaking in Nuuk, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he was not aware of the details of the deal, but made it clear that the territory wants a “peaceful dialogue” with the United States and that its sovereignty cannot be compromised.

 

He said that if the people of Greenland were forced to make a choice, their position was clear. “We choose the Kingdom of Denmark, we choose the EU, we choose Nato.”

 

Macron credits Europe’s united stand

 

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said that firm pressure from Europe pushed Trump to step back from his earlier threats over Greenland, Associated Press reported.

 

Speaking to reporters on arrival, Macron said Europe’s collective response showed its strength on the global stage. "Europe can make itself be respected, and that's a very good thing," Macron said. "When we use the tools that we have at our disposal we get respect and that's what happened this week."

 

(With agency inputs)