00:00Dzień dobry, jest Monday 19 Januari.
00:18I'm Maeve McMahan i to jest Europe Today.
00:21Your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up today, European lawmakers say they will not be blackmailed
00:30as they respond to President Donald Trump's threats of tariffs
00:34against countries voicing support for Greenland.
00:38As the US president signals a tougher economic stance towards allies,
00:42concern is growing here in Brussels of a looming trade war.
00:45An emergency EU summit has been scheduled for Thursday.
00:49For more on what President Trump is planning
00:51and what exactly it could mean for Europe's economy,
00:53we can now head to the Swiss village of Davos
00:56to the World Economic Forum
00:58where our EU editor Maria Tadeo is standing by for us.
01:02Good morning, Maria.
01:02Just tell us, what exactly is President Trump threatening
01:05and what could it mean for our viewers?
01:10Well, good morning, Maeve, from this Davos special, of course,
01:13World Economic Forum kicking off this weekend.
01:16A dramatic weekend, as you say.
01:18President Trump saying he would slap 10% tariffs
01:21on eight European countries, including Germany, France, and Denmark,
01:25for playing, quote, dangerous games around Greenland and the Arctic.
01:29That tariff could go all the way to 25% by June
01:33if the complete and total sale, that's a quote, of Greenland,
01:36is not sealed by then.
01:38Obviously, that has triggered a furious and very fast reaction
01:40from the Europeans saying they cannot agree to this blackmail.
01:44As you say, yesterday, there was a summit of European ambassadors,
01:48an extraordinary meeting, and they held talks for almost three hours.
01:52We understand, and a diplomat familiar with the matter,
01:55told Euronews that multiple discussions were held,
01:59multiple tools were presented in terms of
02:01what could this response look like.
02:03At this point, we should stress,
02:05however, the EU has decided not to deploy the anti-coercion tool.
02:10Remember, that is a trade bazooka, to some extent,
02:13that could really shut off access to American companies
02:15to the single market.
02:16They have, however, revived a list of potential retaliatory tariffs
02:20of 93 billion euros that could be done
02:23if there is no deal before that February 1st deadline
02:27for the tariffs that President Trump is threatening to go into effect.
02:31But they still say there is a diplomatic way out,
02:34and there's still, of course, the way of dialogue,
02:37and that is always what the EU prefers.
02:38Of course, of course, we should note that for the Europeans,
02:41it is clear that if no solution is found before the end of the month,
02:45well, obviously, the EU and the US will be heading into a trade war.
02:49That scenario, I repeat, is one that Brussels wants to avoid at this hour.
02:54Well, you mentioned dialogue, Maria,
02:56and, of course, EU leaders are hoping to encounter President Trump
02:59there in Davos in the corridors of the World Economic Forum.
03:03What should we expect from those meetings?
03:05Well, it's a lot of shuttle diplomacy.
03:10That's how a diplomat told me last night.
03:12They look at the meetings in Davos.
03:14Of course, the head of the European Commission will be participating,
03:17but also a number of European leaders and President Trump.
03:20This will be the first opportunity to meet face-to-face
03:23ever since, of course, that threat came in on the Saturday for tariffs
03:26if Greenland is not sold to the United States.
03:29Obviously, Denmark refuses and has said that it will not move an inch on that point.
03:34But, of course, the meetings this week in Davos could provide that path for diplomacy,
03:39but also a ramp-off to tensions.
03:42We should also note a meeting of European leaders is expected in Brussels on Thursday.
03:47Indeed.
03:47Thank you so much, Maria Tadeo, for that live update there from Davos.
03:51And to get, of course, the view from the European Parliament,
03:54we can bring in the Italian MEP now, Brando Benefey,
03:58who also heads the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the United States.
04:03Good morning, Mr. Benefey.
04:04Thank you so much for joining us here live on Europe Today.
04:08Thank you.
04:09Good morning.
04:10So, look, if President Trump does follow through with his threats,
04:13we're looking at a full-blown trade war.
04:16What will that mean for Europeans?
04:17Well, we are brought in this direction by the escalation that was built by President Trump.
04:28We do not want to be here.
04:30We have been always clear.
04:32We value the transatlantic relationship.
04:34We want good relations with the United States.
04:38But what is happening in these days is crossing another red line.
04:42In fact, it's threatening a NATO country.
04:45Greenland is part of Denmark.
04:49And so I think a very important thing is that whatever deterrence measures we propose,
04:56which can be further tariffs in case Trump goes on with his intent
05:04or the anti-coercion instrument that will damage the U.S. economy,
05:10the important thing is that we are clear what are the conditions for this to be activated.
05:16My experience working on the relations with the U.S. is that we are not credible if we just say we are ready to use measures,
05:26but we do not clearly, calmly say what are the conditions for that to be triggered.
05:32And in my view, we should set a clear deadline.
05:35If in a few weeks we do not have clarity and an agreement on the future of Greenland,
05:42I think we need to be clear that the measures will be activated.
05:46Because now, of course, the EU is choosing diplomacy over these punitive tools.
05:50Why is now not the moment to use these tough trade measures, Mr. Benafé?
05:54Well, I think that any tentative to still have a diplomatic solution must be used until the very end.
06:03But there must be an end.
06:05The problem of Europe is that this end of the tentative to find a diplomatic solution sometimes seems to never end.
06:14And this is profited by, in this case, the U.S., who think we are not credible.
06:19We are not serious about the possible consequences.
06:22So I think we need to be clear that there would be very bad consequences for the U.S. economy if Trump administration goes in that direction.
06:33And I know, I know because of my work, that many in the Congress are on our safe side.
06:39I hope and I wish that many more voices in the U.S. Congress will raise to say that this madness has to end
06:49and that we need to sit down and work together as allies.
06:53And indeed, we've seen, of course, volatility this morning on the financial markets.
06:56Our viewers back home exactly concerned as well, worried about the impact this could have on them.
07:02But many, of course, calling as well for the EU-U.S. trade deal to be frozen, to be put on hold.
07:08That could be a strong move the Europeans could play here.
07:10Yeah, I think that's inevitable because as extra tariffs are being threatened,
07:18the agreement in this moment seems to be not fulfilled from the U.S. side.
07:25There should never be such a threat of further tariffs because of the presence of military from a certain state in Greenland.
07:34But this is what we heard from President Trump.
07:38So inevitably, the vote that was foreseen next week in the Trade Committee of the European Parliament
07:45to actually advance the deal will be frozen.
07:49I'm sure this will be the result.
07:51I hope that we will be able to resume this work soon and that the relations go back to normal.
07:57But this is not the situation today.
07:59And I think we need to be very serious.
08:01Indeed, Brando Benefey, thank you so much for joining us this morning here live on Euronews.
08:07MEPs, of course, will discuss this crisis situation in Greenland
08:11and the impact of this major trade dispute at their plenary session taking place this week in Strasbourg.
08:16Our Jakub Janos explains how we got here and why it matters to you.
08:23Greenland is not for sale, but that will not stop the most famous real estate investor.
08:29And to get it, Trump is literally ready to put the Transatlantic Alliance on ice.
08:35And here is the big picture.
08:38Starting this February, Trump will hit eight European countries that openly oppose his Greenland takeover with a 10% tariff.
08:46His demand? Sell the islands or pay up.
08:49However, the U.S. is EU's biggest business partner.
08:54Trade in goods and services hits a staggering 1.6 trillion euros a year.
09:01And unlike the deficit with China, this relationship is healthy.
09:06Trade is balanced with a gap of just 3%.
09:10But trade wars are no joke.
09:12U.S. exports to Europe support over 2 million American workers,
09:18while European investment in the U.S. employs over 3.5 million.
09:24And for us, it's even bigger.
09:26Exports to the U.S. support 5 million European jobs,
09:29and U.S. companies here employ another 4.5 million.
09:33Now that freezes over.
09:35In response, the leader of the biggest European Parliament Party, Manfred Weber,
09:40says the EU-U.S. trade pact is not possible at this stage.
09:45And Brussels is stuck.
09:47It still has the anti-coerision instrument,
09:49a trade bazooka ready to hit back.
09:52But some are hesitating to pull the trigger.
09:55Meanwhile, last Saturday, the EU rushed to sign the Mercosur deal
09:59to replace the unreliable U.S. market with Latin American partners.
10:04Big politics is usually distant.
10:07But this time, it's about your job and your wallet.
10:10So buckle up.
10:11And this week, EU leaders are meeting Trump in Davos.
10:15Let's hope they bring winter coats,
10:17as they will get a frosty reception.
10:23And for more on how this tariff dispute could overshadow
10:27the World Economic Forum taking place in the snowy village of Davos,
10:30we can head back there now and bring in Maria Tadeo once more,
10:34who's joined, in fact, by the Managing Director of the whole forum.
10:37Maria?
10:40Yes, of course.
10:41And we'll be live this entire week from Davos.
10:43And I'm very happy to say we're joined by Mary Dosek,
10:45who is a Managing Editor, as you say,
10:46but also Director, excuse me, and Chief Business Officer
10:49at the World Economic Forum.
10:51Sir, thank you very much.
10:52You say a forum like this provides a platform for dialogue,
10:57but the world is in disarray.
10:58We saw that over the weekend.
11:00Is dialogue really an option?
11:02No, we are convening leaders from around the world
11:07at a very pivotal time for global geopolitics.
11:11It is a very contested geopolitical and geoeconomic environment.
11:15So a platform like this is actually needed more than ever
11:19for people to come together, engage, and have their dialogue
11:22given the velocity of change geopolitically and geoeconomically
11:26that we're seeing happening all around us.
11:29And, of course, as we said at the top of the show,
11:31there will be important meetings between European leaders
11:34and President Trump, just out of curiosity,
11:36and I'm sure our viewers really care about this.
11:38President Trump is not an easy guest to book.
11:41How does that happen?
11:42And what do you think it matters for the U.S. to be here?
11:45No, it's very important we have President Trump here,
11:48the representative of the largest economy in the world,
11:51together with 64 other heads of state and government
11:53from around the world,
11:54including Commission President von der Leyen,
11:58we have Chancellor Mertz, President Macron.
12:02So it's going to be a big diplomatic moment here,
12:04I think, this week,
12:06given a lot of the changes that we're seeing,
12:10particularly on the trade front.
12:11And can I ask you, now that you mentioned the trade,
12:14and that's becoming now incredibly important,
12:16in a way trade and tariffs are becoming a way of doing politics,
12:20how different is the agenda for the World Economic Forum this year?
12:23There's been, of course, a lot of this talk
12:25that it will focus less on climate,
12:27perhaps less on progressive ideas,
12:28some suggest it's a less woke Davos.
12:31Is that too much, perhaps, speculation on that?
12:33What's the focus this year for you?
12:34No, the program overall is developed with looking at
12:38what is the latest data on the state of the world economy.
12:43Of course, we have a number of longstanding work streams
12:47that we also put on the agenda that have a critical milestone.
12:53So, for example, we have a big pillar focusing here
12:55on building prosperity within planetary boundaries.
12:59We have a big pillar on investing better in people.
13:01But, of course, also issues related to technology,
13:05the AI revolution, and geopolitics are also a big part of the agenda.
13:09So, the social component still matters,
13:11or would you say this is a more business-minded, business-focused Davos?
13:16No, for example, the pillar on investing in people
13:19is really all about how do you prepare people
13:21for the new economy that is emerging.
13:23So, there is a number of sessions that are really
13:25having a very clear-eyed view of what it means
13:29for communities and people around the world.
13:31And, sir, there's two final questions I want to ask you.
13:33There's been a lot of speculation that Iran's foreign minister
13:36will be participating this week.
13:37Can you confirm that?
13:38And, again, is that in the spirit of dialogue?
13:40Because a week ago it looked like it was going to be a war.
13:45The Iranian foreign minister was invited some time ago,
13:49and we don't have right now a session with him in the program.
13:55And just lastly, by the time we get to Friday, what's a good Davos?
13:59Just very briefly, what does a good Davos look like?
14:02Given the stakes that we now see in particularly economic diplomacy,
14:07we will have a lot of those protagonists here that I mentioned,
14:11so that we hope that we can play a role in facilitating engagement and dialogue
14:16on a very important issue for Europe and for all stakeholders.
14:21Well, sir, thank you very much.
14:23And, of course, the World Economic Forum continues this entire week.
14:25We'll be live.
14:27A platform for dialogue.
14:28We'll have to wait and see.
14:29Indeed, Maria Sayo, thank you so much for that.
14:32And, of course, to Mirek Dujek,
14:33the managing director of the World Economic Forum.
14:37And for more on what's going on in Davos,
14:39do follow our special coverage on Euronews,
14:41including a daily evening show.
14:43And, of course, for updates on the tragic train crash
14:46that took place in Spain last night,
14:47do visit our website, euronews.com,
14:49or download our app.
14:51That's it for today.
14:51See you tomorrow.
14:52See you tomorrow.
