EU leaders take Davos stage as Trump rocks global order

Davos (AFP) — European leaders take the stage on Tuesday ahead of Donald Trump at the gathering of global elites in Davos, as the US president dangles tariff threats in a bid to pressure the EU over Greenland.

Trump is set to dominate the week at the Swiss ski resort, saying he would take part in a meeting of “various parties” while there about his bid to take over the Arctic island.

A US delegation is already on the ground to promote an American agenda that has unsettled the global order cherished by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

European Union (EU) chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron will address the forum on Tuesday, along with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose countries have their own disputes with Trump.

Trump will deliver a speech on Wednesday and participate in other events on Thursday.

Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland standoff.

The US president said he did not think European leaders would “push back too much” on his attempt to buy the vast Arctic island, telling reporters on Monday: “They have to have this done. They can’t protect it.”

“I had a very good telephone call with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, concerning Greenland,” Trump posted on his TruthSocial platform late Monday.

“I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland.”

Trump has flagged wanting to protect Greenland from perceived Russian and Chinese threats as a key justification for taking over the strategically-located territory, though analysts suggest Beijing is a small player in the region.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the US contingent in Davos, warned that EU retaliation “would be very unwise.”

Von der Leyen met with a bipartisan US congressional delegation in Davos on Monday and said on social media that she had “addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark.”

While Macron will leave on Tuesday without seeing Trump in Davos, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would seek to meet the US president at the forum on Wednesday.