Germany EU organizes special summit due to Trump's tariff threats
EU Council President António Costa will convene a special summit following US President Donald Trump's new tariff threats in the Greenland dispute. According to an EU official, Thursday is a possible date for a meeting of European heads of state and government. However, the only certainty so far is that there will be a physical meeting at the end of the week.
18.01.2026, 21:33
SDA
Costa said that his consultations with member states on the recent tensions over Greenland had revealed a shared view that tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and were incompatible with the EU-US trade agreement.
They were prepared to defend themselves against any form of coercion. At the same time, they wanted to continue to work constructively with the USA. There is a common transatlantic interest in peace and security in the Arctic, particularly through cooperation within the framework of NATO.
"Trade bazooka" would be a possible option
The activation of an EU instrument to defend against economic coercion - also known as a "trade bazooka" - is also likely to be discussed during consultations at European level on how to respond to the US President's open attempt at blackmail. French President Emmanuel Macron will apply to use the so-called Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), according to sources close to the President.
The law allows the EU to take countermeasures if economic pressure is exerted to force political decisions. This would allow retaliatory tariffs on the import of US goods, for example. One option is to adopt the retaliatory measures planned last year during the tariff conflict. The plan at the time was to impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports worth around 93 billion euros.
US president wants to force Greenland purchase with tariffs
On Saturday, Trump announced that punitive tariffs of 10 percent would apply from February 1 due to the Greenland dispute and tariffs of 25 percent from June 1 - on all goods sent to the USA - until an agreement on the purchase of Greenland was reached. The tariff threat affects eight European NATO countries that recently sent soldiers on a fact-finding mission to the island, including Germany.
Currently, most EU exports to America have been subject to a 15 percent tariff since the summer. A crisis meeting of the representatives of the EU states was therefore held at ambassador level late on Sunday afternoon.
