The Danish navy's inspection ship HDMS Vaedderen sails off Nuuk, Greenland, on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
The EU said on Monday it wanted to engage with the United States after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on European countries in the standoff over Greenland, but was ready to act if needed.
Trump shook Europe on Saturday when he vowed to slap EU members Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden - and non-members Britain and Norway - with extra levies unless Greenland is ceded to the United States.
Leaders from the 27-nation bloc will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday evening to discuss their response to one of the gravest crises in years to hit transatlantic ties.
"Our priority is to engage, not escalate," EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said. "Sometimes the most responsible form of leadership is restraint."
Gill said engagement with the United States continued at all levels.
"We are trying to be calm, to be firm, to be serious, to be responsible, because that's what, in our view, leadership looks like," Gill told reporters.
But he added: "Should the threatened tariffs be imposed, the European Union has tools at its disposal and is prepared to respond."
The EU is considering different responses if Trump does not back down, including putting the current tariff deal agreed last year with the United States on hold.
Second, European tariffs on imports worth 93 billion euros ($108 billion) from the United States, currently suspended until early February, could come into force.
The third response if the situation does not change would include an array of tools, including the "anti-coercion instrument" known as the "bazooka".
Aides to French President Emmanuel Macron said he would ask the EU to activate the never-before-used tool against Washington if Trump makes good on his threat.
"People ask me, is the anti-coercion instrument back on the table? It was never off the table," Gill said.
"We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed," said Lars Klingbeil, Germany's vice chancellor, at a press conference in Berlin alongside French Economy Minister Roland Lescure.
"Europe will respond with a united, clear response, and we are now preparing countermeasures together with our European partners."
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a "trade war is in no one's interest" on Monday.
"The use of tariffs against allies is completely wrong," Starmer told a hastily-arranged press conference after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on Britain, Denmark - of which Greenland is an autonomous territory - and other European countries unless the Arctic island is ceded to him.
"Alliances endure because they're built on respect and partnership, not pressure," Starmer said, adding he urged Trump in a call on Sunday to find a solution "rooted in partnership, facts and mutual respect".
"We will keep dialogue open. We will defend international law and we will use the full strength of government at home and abroad, to protect the security living standards and future of the British people."
"We've worked very closely with the United States, and we must never lose sight of our national interest in that," he added.
European leaders on Sunday slammed Trump's threat.
European countries including Denmark said they "stand united" against Trump's vow on Saturday.
"Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral," Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden warned in a joint statement.
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Trump's ultimatum threatened the world order "as we know it" and the future of the NATO military alliance.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had spoken to Trump about "the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic" and hoped to talk again at this week's Davos summit. He did not elaborate on their conversation.
