The European Union says it is seeking a constructive solution with the United States amid rising tensions over Greenland and newly announced U.S. tariffs. EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis warned that all options remain on the table, including the bloc’s anti-coercion instrument, as transatlantic trade ties face renewed strain. The comments come as EU leaders hold urgent talks on how to respond to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
00:00Minister Piyarakakis, could you describe the discussion on the potential retaliatory measures that the EU will consider taking against the US?
00:12And for Commissioner Dombrovskis, is the Parliament right in deciding to put the ratification of the EU-US trade deal on hold?
00:23Thank you so much.
00:23I would like to start by saying that recent geopolitical developments on Greenland were not formally part of the Eurogroup's agenda today.
00:32I think this is only natural because, after all, we were not in Eurogroup-inclusive format.
00:36Nothing could have been discussed without the Kingdom of Denmark being present at the meeting.
00:41But having said that, we were all cognizant of the fact that the meeting is taking place in light of those recent developments.
00:46And in this regard, let me reiterate what I said also at my opening statement this morning,
00:51that for us, territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law.
00:58They're essential to Europe.
00:58They're essential to the international community as a whole.
01:01Dialogue is key.
01:02Dialogue remains key.
01:04Tariffs would overall undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.
01:10And Europe must remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty.
01:15And, of course, the European Council is expected to convene later this week to take stock of where we stand.
01:22Well, as regards the second question, well, first of all, it's clear that this U.S. threat of tariffs in a context of Greenland is not acceptable.
01:38And correspondingly, there are now intensive consultations taking place on EU's response in this regard.
01:47And, as you know, there will be also extraordinary European Council on Thursday to discuss exactly these topics.
01:55And so, therefore, it's clear that we need to clarify our way forward.
02:05We are seeking engagement with U.S. and finding a constructive solution.
02:12But we are also considering other possible responses.
02:17We have tools in our disposal to do so.
02:21And in that point of view, taking a certain pause while all those developments are now moving may be justified.
02:32So, there's lots of at stake economically, both for Europe, but also for U.S., for U.S. businesses and workers.
02:39So, therefore, we should try to avoid, so to say, more negative scenarios.
02:47But we are prepared to react if we are not able to find those constructive agreements.
02:58On exact policy options of decisions, they are known.
03:04So, on Thursday, leaders will be discussing, and then we will be, from the Commission side, seeing how we are following it up.
03:14And then, to Commissioner Dombrowski, how high is, how high do you see the bar as being to EU retaliation against Donald Trump's tariffs?
03:25Well, geopolitically, we are right now in a complicated situation.
03:30Just to reiterate what I said already, we see both threats to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland and tariff threats in this regard as unacceptable.
03:49So, we are ready to react, but we are also ready to seek some compromise, constructive engagement and constructive solution with U.S.,
04:07but on a basis of a clear principles of respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states.
04:13I think on this, we have to be very clear.
04:15I really want to ask, because a lot of people keep talking about anti-coercion instrument.
04:19They keep saying, the EU officials keep saying, we're going to use all the tools at our disposal if we need to.
04:24But what I'd like to know is that talk has been very easy, and some experts would say that last year Trump realized that the EU talks a lot, but doesn't really deliver.
04:34So, I'd ask you two things.
04:37Do you really think the political will will be there across the 27 member states to actually retaliate if it's necessary?
04:43And do you actually think that any instruments will be used, or is that just something to say to try and deter Trump, and it's not actually that effective in the first place?
04:54Well, just to reiterate, all instruments are on a table, so we are not excluding any possibility.
05:04We will seek constructive engagement, but we are ready to react also with other instruments, if we will not be able to find a constructive solution with U.S.
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