Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) has called for dialogue after US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs targeting European countries deploying military personnel to Greenland.
On Saturday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of 10%, which could rise to 25%, on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland. The measure, according to Trump, would be enforced “until Greenland is completely sold.”
Belgium, which recently announced plans to send a liaison officer to Greenland, has not been included on the list of targeted countries. This exclusion may be linked to the timing of Belgium’s announcement, which came after the other nations revealed their deployments.
Prévot stated that any NATO member deploying personnel to Greenland operates with the goal of promoting collective security and supporting Denmark’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Speaking on social media, he emphasised that solutions should be sought through dialogue rather than coercion.
On Saturday evening, several European countries condemned Trump’s announcement. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa stressed that Europe remains united and committed to defending its sovereignty. EU member state ambassadors are scheduled to convene for an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that divisions between allies would only benefit China and Russia. Meanwhile, three pro-EU blocs in the European Parliament—the European People’s Party (EPP), Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and Renew Europe—have temporarily suspended the approval of a US-EU trade agreement.
Both the liberals in Renew Europe and the S&D group have proposed invoking the EU’s “anti-coercion instrument,” a mechanism that offers a range of measures for responding to external pressure on member states.
