European Union leaders face a pivotal week as they seek to defuse tensions with the US while preparing to retaliate against Trump should he act on his tariff threats. Officials and diplomats consulted by Euronews say the bloc's anti-coercion instrument is part of the plan, but no magic bullet, Euronews reports.
European Union leaders are gearing up for a week of shuttle diplomacy between Davos and Brussels as they seek to de-escalate tensions around Greenland while preparing broad retaliatory measures – including the bloc's so-called "trade bazooka".
European governments believe a dual-track strategy is the best way forward to ease the tensions over the territory, and that a diplomatic solution is still possible as they prepare for crunch face-to-face talks with United States President Donald Trump in Davos.
An extraordinary meeting of ambassadors held on Sunday crystallised the EU's strategy and is dictating the European Commission's response. At the meeting, member states showed solidarity with Denmark while calling to exhaust all diplomatic avenues before resorting to punitive measures, according to one diplomat familiar with the matter.
The approach was confirmed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday, who said Europeans want to "avoid any escalation in this dispute if at all possible," while reminding the US administration that EU countries "could also retaliate."
The European Commission has also been tasked with exploring a range of retaliatory measures to deploy should diplomatic efforts fail, including the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which could shut off US companies' access to the European single market.
