The Davos forum has deepened the rift between the United States and Europe. What the media is writing
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- The Davos forum has deepened the rift between the United States and Europe. What the media is writing
The Europeans expected to make the main topic of the Davos economic forum the allocation of funds to support Ukraine and its reconstruction, but the discussion of US plans to annex Greenland turned out to be in the foreground. Even in the absence of US President Donald Trump, who is still on his way to Davos, his previous statements about the island have raised fears of a possible split between NATO and the EU. What the foreign press writes about it is in the Izvestia digest
Bloomberg: Trump's claims to Greenland exacerbate the split within the EU
Europe's confrontation with Donald Trump is rapidly escalating into something more than just a dispute. Europe's leaders are desperately trying to salvage what's left of the wreckage of the transatlantic alliance, with no idea how to do it. The renewed demand by the US president for Denmark to hand over Greenland has caught the European Union at a moment of vulnerability, when it is split over the conflict in Ukraine, experiencing economic difficulties and is not sure that it can rely on American security guarantees that once formed its basis.
Bloomberg
European leaders arriving at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week are trying not only to deal with Trump, but also to establish relations with each other. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is committed to dialogue, French President Emmanuel Macron is openly opposed, and small states are anxiously watching whether this crisis will lead to European solidarity or show how it can disintegrate under pressure.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, who is due to meet with Trump in Davos, believes that the separation of Europeans will be the end of an era. "80 years of Atlanticism are really coming to an end," he said, and stated that he no longer considers the United States an ally. Merz hopes to talk some sense into Trump when he arrives in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday. But more and more Europeans believe that the differences have gone too far. Thomas Gomart, head of the French Institute of International Relations, calls the collapse of the EU the main geopolitical risk, and noted that even discussing such a possibility "is fraught with a self-fulfilling prophecy." Financial markets reacted to the situation — stocks continued to fall, and a pension fund in Denmark announced that it was getting rid of US Treasury bonds.
Financial Times: Trump's threats have led to a serious transatlantic crisis
Europe's dissatisfaction with Trump's plans to acquire Greenland and the proposal to create a "Peace Council" has disrupted plans to provide Ukraine with economic assistance after the conflict ends and risks undermining Western unity in support of Kiev. "There are no plans to sign at the moment," said one of the officials attending the Davos economic forum. Another official said that the EU cannot ignore the US actions regarding Greenland while trying to resolve other issues.
Financial Times
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on eight European NATO allies in response to their decision to send troops to the Danish Arctic island of Greenland for military exercises. According to European officials, this has led to the most serious transatlantic crisis in recent decades. He also caused concern in European capitals by inviting them to join the proposed Peace Council, which many in Europe fear is intended to replace the UN as a platform for resolving global conflicts.
According to people familiar with the matter, most EU countries have declined invitations, and the US decision to introduce Russian President Vladimir Putin to the council has increased their concerns. French President Emmanuel Macron turned out to participate in the work of the council due to doubts about its powers, and the German government called the necessary condition for participation "compliance of the body with existing international legal norms." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday that it was "difficult for him to imagine" participating in any event with Putin and that he did not consider Greenland and Ukraine "interchangeable" topics.
The Washington Post: The EU intends to diversify its economy to protect itself from the United States
On Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on European colleagues and journalists to calm the "hysteria," insisting that "America first" does not mean "America alone." At the same time, Trump published an image created with the help of artificial intelligence, in which European leaders in the Oval Office look at a poster where the territories of Greenland, Venezuela and Canada are designated as part of the United States. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted that Trump's pressure tactics remind Europe to gain independence faster "from security to economics," because "the world has changed forever."
The Washington Post
Von der Leyen welcomed the recent trade agreements concluded between the EU and four South American countries and spoke about further diversifying the European economy to avoid the uncertainty typical of the United States under Trump. She pointed to the possibility of concluding a new large-scale trade agreement between the EU and India, which has also suffered from Trump's trade wars. "Europe will always choose the world, and the world is ready to choose Europe," she said.
A few years ago, the Europeans in Davos were thinking about "severing ties" with China. Now, analysts say that Trump's ambitious plan for Greenland threatens the integrity of the NATO alliance and the foundations of transatlantic relations. EU leaders are expected to discuss retaliatory measures this week, including the use of an "anti-coercion" mechanism that could lead to large-scale reprisals against the United States and American companies.
Politico: Kiev is forgotten amid EU concern about Greenland
While a real conflict is raging in eastern Europe, the continent's leaders are distracted by a fake one, trying to convince Trump to abandon the idea of taking over Greenland. This puts Ukraine on the back burner and has become a reason for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider whether he should attend the economic forum, according to a Ukrainian and Western official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Politico
European leaders planned to focus on Ukraine this week and use the planned meeting with Trump to ensure that the US president personally approves security guarantees for Ukraine [after the conflict] — measures that Kiev says are necessary to contain the Kremlin. But as diplomatic priorities shift, Kiev is increasingly at risk of being forgotten, to the growing frustration in Ukraine and Europe, as Trump steps up threats to seize mineral-rich Greenland, including the possibility of punitive tariffs on eight European countries that oppose his attempt to annex the world's largest island.
Trump's officials were also mostly focused on Greenland and Gas, and according to Ukrainian officials, President Volodymyr Zelensky was struggling to find a venue for a bilateral meeting with Trump. A Republican foreign policy expert on condition of anonymity said that the Ukrainian leader was faced with the reluctance of the White House. Ukrainian and American officials are expected to continue their dialogue in Davos, but now there is only a vague prospect of signing an agreement on economic recovery between the United States and Kiev, which is scheduled to be concluded this week.
Le Monde: Donald Trump has become a stranger to European NATO partners
US President Donald Trump has not arrived yet, but his anger and obsessions are already haunting Davos. The meeting in the Alpine mountains could have rallied Kiev's allies, but it turned into a more explicit confrontation between Washington and its Western partners. We are entering a "world without law, where international law is violated," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday: he did not mention Trump, but the purpose of his message was obvious.
Le Monde
Donald Trump has become a foreigner to his allies, including Emmanuel Macron, who a year ago imagined he understood the billionaire and his transactional logic. The head of state left Davos on Tuesday evening, not seeking — unlike German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — to meet with his American counterpart, who addresses him only with sarcasm and offensive remarks. "Macron, no one needs him anymore. (...) He will no longer be in power soon," Trump told reporters on Monday evening, denigrating the Frenchman's refusal to participate in his Peace Council, [...] which is supposed to control the committee responsible for the management and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, as well as compete with the UN.
Ukraine has become the first victim of the US-European tensions. On Tuesday evening, Vladimir Zelensky announced that he had canceled a trip to Davos, where he expected to continue discussing security guarantees and reconstruction of the country with the Trump administration, which had been going on for several months. He is concerned that the situation with Greenland is "overshadowing the Ukrainian negotiations": this is not the first time this has happened, but this time the Europeans themselves have come to Trump's attention.
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