EU chief warns there's no going back after Trump's Greenland threats
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 20, 2026. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
DAVOS, Switzerland — The European Union's chief executive called for "permanent" independence from the U.S. on Tuesday, framing President Trump's hostility toward allies as a rupture on the scale of the 1971 "Nixon shock."
Why it matters: Ursula von der Leyen's remarks reflect the deep unease hanging over the World Economic Forum, where Trump arrives Wednesday amid an escalating crisis in transatlantic relations.
- Trump's fixation on taking control of Greenland — and his threats to impose tariffs on allies who oppose the move — have jolted European leaders and become the dominant undercurrent of the Davos summit.
- Overnight, Trump further inflamed tensions by posting alleged private messages from NATO chief Mark Rutte and French President Emmanuel Macron on Truth Social.
Zoom in: Von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, warned Trump in her speech that the EU's response to his Greenland threats would be "unflinching, united and proportional."
- She signaled that the U.S.-EU trade deal reached last summer — and hailed by Trump at the time as "the biggest deal ever made" — would be at risk if Washington follows through.
- The EU is weighing a package of €93 billion in retaliatory tariffs, with some European leaders urging the bloc to deploy an anti-coercion instrument — known as the EU's "trade bazooka" — to enforce its red lines.
What they're saying: "In politics, as in business, a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something," von der Leyen said, drawing warm applause from the Davos crowd.
The big picture: Von der Leyen rejected any hope that relations would quickly revert to the old normal, warning that "playing for time" would only deepen Europe's vulnerability.
- She said her calls last year for European "independence" were initially greeted with skepticism, but "less than one year on, there's now a real consensus around this." The sheer speed and scale of Trump-era disruptions have proven her case, she argued.
- "Of course nostalgia is part of our human story, but nostalgia will not bring back the old order," von der Leyen said, laying out Europe's push to de-risk its economy, deepen its capital markets and strike deals without the U.S.
What to watch: On Greenland, the EU chief warned Trump is "plunging us" into a "downward spiral" that benefits Russia and China — the very adversaries that the transatlantic alliance is working to keep out.
- She said the EU is preparing a major investment package to support Greenland's local economy and infrastructure, and plans to strengthen security partnerships with non-U.S. partners like the U.K., Canada, Norway and Iceland.
- Von der Leyen said the crisis is forcing the EU to rethink its security strategy — including in the Arctic — anchored in the principle that "it is for sovereign people to decide their own future."
The bottom line: Von der Leyen quipped that "security in the high north was not the main theme" when she began preparations for her Davos speech, but that the crisis has ultimately reinforced her broader point.
- "The world has changed permanently, and we need to change with it," she concluded.