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Europe Today: Former EU's 'digital tsar' discusses Greenland, Iran, Big Tech
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Tune in to Euronews' new flagship morning programme, Europe Today, at 8 am Brussels time. In just 15 minutes, we bring you up to speed on the biggest news of the day.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/01/13/europe-today-former-eus-digital-tsar-discusses-greenland-iran-big-tech
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good morning, it is Tuesday the 13th of January. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today.
00:21Your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up today, all eyes on Greenland. The government has said it cannot accept Donald
00:33Trump's desire to take control of their island. For now, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is
00:39avoiding the issue, piling praise on Donald Trump, insisting the alliance is working on
00:44ways to bolster Arctic security. This, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to
00:50meet Danish and Greenlandish diplomats tomorrow. For more on what all this means for NATO, our
00:56EU editor, Maria Tadeo is here with me in the studio. But first, let's just take a listen
01:00to both President Donald Trump and the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte.
01:04If we don't take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland. And I am not going to
01:10let that happen. And Greenland basically, their defense is two dog sleds. Do you know that?
01:15Do you know what their defense is? Two dog sleds. But one way or the other, we're going to have
01:20Greenland. What I always do is when people are helpful for the alliance, and they're doing good
01:26stuff. And I believe that Donald Trump is doing the right things for NATO. By the way, as we speak,
01:30we see Denmark speeding up their investments when it comes to defense, not only generally,
01:35but also when it comes to unique capabilities to defend territories like Greenland. So we are
01:40really working together here. So Maria, Mark Rutte really seems to be in denial there over Greenland.
01:45It's getting awkward. It's getting awkward. And yesterday, that was a very painful press
01:50conference to watch because he was asked repeatedly, is there an issue now within NATO when one of its
01:56defense partners is clearly now making its territorial ambitions on the land of another
02:02country that is also part of the alliance? And he kept repeating, no, we are working together. And we
02:07all agree that Arctic security is important. Of course, certainly, Arctic security is important in the
02:12face of China and Russia. But there is a fundamental question here, which is the United States now for
02:18a year may remember this or started in a press conference in Mar-a-Lago in 2025 has been insisting
02:24and has been very consistent in the idea that they need Greenland. Trump says we needed the US would
02:29need it for national security. And he also talks about the psychological effect that it would have in
02:34the country to own it. Now, for the time being, one of the ideas that is being floated just to show
02:40President Trump that NATO allies are taking this seriously is to put together a NATO mission or a
02:46mission modeled after NATO that would include a significant European component, again, to show
02:51security of Greenland and the Arctic is being taken seriously. But of course, there's also another point
02:56to this is, this is sort of language that we would say at different times would have been a sort of
03:02territorial expansion, imperialism, maybe some suggest there's colonialism behind this. And of course,
03:07it's not a secret that Greenland is also an island and a territory is very rich in rare earth and
03:12minerals, all of this pining pressure, of course, on the Danish government to stop the signage.
03:17So what more should the Europeans be doing here? Should they not be in crisis mode over Greenland?
03:21Well, and they are in a way, of course, they worry about the pressure on Denmark, they worry about the
03:27pressure on Greenland. We should also note when you look at polls, 87% of Greenlanders say they do not
03:32want to belong to the United States. There is a question about autonomy, but not changing when it
03:37comes to now Denmark to the United States. The other point is, of course, the Europeans, the French,
03:44the Germans, the UK, there has been many reports, again, this in the context of NATO, that they would
03:48be prepared to model and put forward a mission to show that they are taking the Arctic seriously
03:52for the Danish government. They have said, however, and this is one of the most extraordinary
03:56statements I've ever seen, actually, in the past year, that if the US were to make a move,
04:01then that would be the end of NATO, and that would be the end of the post-Second World War
04:05security framework. As I go back, this is a defensive alliance, one member making a move
04:11on another member. Of course, it's very hard to see how NATO would have any credibility
04:14if that were to happen.
04:16Okay, Maria Tadeo, your EU editor, thank you so much for that update. And shortly, we can
04:21dive deeper into the topic, as coming up, we'll be joined by the Danish politician, Margrethe
04:26Vysheyr, most famous for her role as EU Commissioner for Competition, when President Donald Trump
04:31labelled her back then the tax lady. She's known back home for being a government minister
04:35and party leader, and in Brussels for going after big techs. We're thrilled to have her
04:40here with us in the studio. Good morning.
04:42Good morning.
04:43Welcome to Europe Today.
04:44Well, great to be here.
04:45So lovely to have you here with us in Brussels. I want to urgently ask you many questions about
04:49Greenland, but first, your thoughts on Iran. What more can the international community
04:53do here? What more can the EU do?
04:56Well, I think the steps that has been taken so far, they are, you know, the right steps
05:00to say that, well, we're here. Just when the women were hitting the streets, we were there
05:06to say, well, we support your cause. And now again, to say, listen, the sanctions, they will
05:12be increased. There will be also external pressure, because the cries of the Iranians on the streets,
05:19the deterioration in their living conditions, you know, the courage that they show, I think
05:25that should inspire and impress the rest of the world.
05:28And what about President Donald Trump? His solution is to potentially intervene militarily.
05:32Is this something that you would support?
05:35Well, you know, I think that for the Iranians, the solution is not a military solution.
05:40It is, of course, for the President's regime to step down and for democratic forces to align
05:46themselves with a democratic way of ruling the country.
05:50Very challenging, indeed. Let's talk about Greenland and Donald Trump's desire to take
05:55Greenland. Could he potentially really do that?
05:58Well, I think even for President Trump, for one native country to attack another native country
06:05to acquire territory is really, really far reaching. And when you look at the asks of security
06:12and cooperation on minerals, there is, I think, a very open approach from the Greenlandic
06:18government and population, and of course, also from a Danish side. And there's been a
06:22longstanding cooperation. The treaty with the US goes back to 51, as when it comes to security.
06:28And what role should the European Union be playing here? What should the Europeans be doing?
06:33Well, Europe has increased its interest for Greenland over the last 10 years. Now, there is a
06:40representation of the European Commission in Greenland. I think that's really important.
06:45There is a memorandum of understanding when it comes to the exploration of critical minerals and
06:50rare earth and what have you. So, even though Greenland is not part of the European Union,
06:55well, it's a relationship that can be increased. And the first steps they have been taken in previous
07:00years.
07:00Well, some previous politicians are today calling for them to be a member, that Brussels should
07:06invite them back in. They did reverse their membership back in the day.
07:09I think so many decisions are for the Greenlandic people, for them to take. It's their country.
07:15They don't seem to be at all in any kind of mindset to sell their country. If they ever
07:20want to join the European Union again, it's for them to start that discussion.
07:24But if Trump did move in, could that be the end of NATO, as Somerset is saying?
07:27Well, I think that is almost – I know that President Trump says that he's not reined in
07:35by anything but his own morals. But even for that, to do that, for one NATO country to attack
07:41another NATO country for territory, that would be, I think, the most existential threat to NATO
07:48that we have seen. And also, you know, Denmark was one of the countries who answered the call
07:52from the US. The only time that Article 5 had been triggered was when the US did that. And
08:01Denmark fought and, of course, lost lives and soldiers in that operation.
08:05And with all this talk about Greenland, one would almost forget the big spat between Brussels
08:09and Washington DC over tech roads. Who's standing up to Donald Trump here?
08:13Well, I think the important thing is to say, listen, we have realised our dependencies, gas
08:20on Russia, critical minerals on China, security on the US, and also technology on the US. So,
08:26of course, it's about time for Europe to say, listen, we will enforce our rules for our market
08:31to be open and contestable. We will look for European suppliers, because there is a European
08:36demand. And of course, we want to live a life that is not, you know, 100% digitally dependent,
08:41because the society is about the relationship between people.
08:44And what about something that's a big concern for our viewers, that Grok's AI tool that's
08:48manipulating image of women and girls? What can the EU do here? We saw a very late response
08:53yesterday from the commissioner.
08:55Well, I think it's really important to be tough on this one, because you have this wicked
08:59combination of nudity and humiliating women. And basically, any woman could be, you know,
09:07a victim of this. So I think it's really important to stand up for it, both as people,
09:12but of course, also win the enforcement with the commission.
09:14OK, Magdalena Tevez, thank you so much for joining us and for sharing your insights on
09:18a number of stories. Thank you.
09:21But now it is time to focus on France, where the fire leader, Marine Le Pen, is starting a
09:26crucial appeal in court today that could determine whether she can run in next year's presidential
09:30elections or not. Marine Le Pen was convicted last year for allegedly misusing EU funding
09:36to pay her party staff back home as MEP assistants here in Brussels.
09:41For more, we can cross over now to Paris to bring in our correspondent,
09:44Sophia Katskenkova, who's just outside the courthouse for us this morning.
09:48Good morning, Sophia. Just remind our viewers of the details of this case.
09:52Good morning. So, as you said, Marine Le Pen's appeal trial opens this Tuesday afternoon at the
10:02Paris Court of Appeals just behind me, and it will be decisive for her political career.
10:09She's appealing a conviction, as you said, Maeve, for misusing EU parliament funds. Judges last year
10:16ruled that the money meant to pay EU parliamentary assistance was actually used to fund
10:22staff working for her national party between 2004 and 2016. So, for that, she was sentenced to four
10:30years in prison, two of which were suspended, a €100,000 fine, and most importantly, banned from
10:38holding public office for five years with immediate effect. And so, this ban currently blocks her from
10:46running for the 2027 presidential election. So, this appeal is one of her last legal chances to
10:54overturn or soften at the original ruling. The hearing will last about a month, and a verdict
11:00is expected before the summer. Back to you, Brussels.
11:04So, a lot at stake here. Sophia, what could the potential outcomes be? I know we have to wait a couple of weeks.
11:09Yeah, so as you said, the stakes are extremely high, and there are three main scenarios. Either she
11:18manages to overturn the original ruling, which is seen as highly unlikely, as legal experts have told
11:27me, and this would clear the way for her to run in 2027. A partial win, so that means either a reduced
11:35or suspended ban could also keep her in the race. But if the original sentence is confirmed, or even
11:42worse, toughened, her presidential ambitions would effectively be over. And this would make Jordan
11:49Bardella, her 30-year-old protégé and leader of her national rally party, the natural candidate for
11:56the presidential election. And polls already suggest that he may be more popular than Le Pen and capable
12:03of winning a presidential election. And for the EU, the implications of this could be huge.
12:10Indeed, that's why the story is being watched very closely here from Brussels. Sophia, Katzinskova,
12:14thank you so much for that update. But now, all eyes back to Iran. The European Parliament has responded
12:19to the attacks on peaceful protesters by banning Iranian diplomats, and the EU is also eyeing more
12:25sanctions. Jakob Janis takes a look at how the international community could act.
12:29Welcome to the ultimate game of risk, a battlefield of diplomacy, conflict and conquest. With massive
12:39protests on the streets of Tehran, the dice has been rolled. Now the players must choose their options.
12:47First, the US. Move one is to strike. Last year proved the US can hit Iranian nuclear facilities.
12:55And now, fresh from Venezuela, a targeted air campaign is the hot power option.
13:03Move two is about oil. Trump now controls Venezuela's resources, so he can drive Iran's exports to zero
13:11without spiking global oil prices. And there is also a technology card, deploying Stalin terminals that
13:19will help to break the internet blackout and coordinate the opposition. Now the EU. No military strikes, but strong economic cards.
13:29Move one is the trade trap. Germany accounts for a third of all EU Iran trade. They supply the vital machinery and chemicals that keep Iran's industry alive.
13:43Maybe it should be limited. Move two is hard diplomacy. Brussels could finally designate the Revolutionary Guard as terrorists, freeze their assets and isolate the regime completely.
13:58Finally, Iran's option is to secure the regime at any cost. But life is not a board game where plastic figures are removed from the map.
14:09In Iran, real people are being murdered. With hundreds reported deaths, one question arises. How many more lives will the next turn take?
14:26And that report by Jacob Yanis brings this edition of Europe Today to an end. Thank you so much for tuning in. Join back again tomorrow morning. See you then.
14:35We'll see you then.
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