Europe’s united stance at Davos appears to force Trump retreat over Greenland

European leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos stood together on the principle of territorial integrity and, by warning of severe economic countermeasures, achieved an apparent retreat from President Trump over Greenland, the article says. The piece frames sovereignty and the inviolability of borders as core tenets of the postwar European project and links that stance to contemporary pressures: Russia’s continuing effort to conquer Ukraine, whose sovereignty it had recognized in treaties, and U.S.

demands that Denmark hand over Greenland. The article notes that territorial integrity is a red line for both the European Union, a collective of 27 nations, and NATO, an alliance of 32 nations. According to the article, Europeans suspended a pending U.S.-E.U. trade agreement and prepared €93 billion in countertariffs as leverage.

The prospect of those measures unsettled markets, and after discussions with Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, Mr. Trump appeared to back down, removing his threatened tariffs while declaring victory; the article portrays the real winner as the Europeans for defending the no-border-changes-without-consent principle.

After the E.U. summit, Ursula von der Leyen said that "Firmness, outreach, preparedness and unity" had been effective and should be maintained.

Key Topics

World, European Union, Greenland, Donald Trump, World Economic Forum, Nato