“After the back and forth of the last few days, we should now wait and see what substantive agreements are reached between Mr. Rutte and Mr. Trump,” Klingbeil told German broadcaster ZDF. “No matter what solution is now found for Greenland, everyone must understand that we cannot sit back, relax, and be satisfied.”
An EU official directly involved in the negotiations in recent days said “I would be skeptical about calling this fantastic news. We cannot live our lives or govern our countries based on social media posts.”
EU leaders are set to meet Thursday evening to discuss Europe’s response to the U.S. president’s escalation over Greenland. That summit is still going ahead.
“A lot has happened since the start of the year, it’s a good idea for these leaders to sit together and discuss the [volatile] world we live in,” the EU official said.
Regardless of the reversal on trade threats and apparent Greenland deal, Trump’s speech in Davos “will give food for thought in most if not all capitals, tariffs or not,” another EU official said.
The purpose of the summit remains to discuss transatlantic relations, a third EU official said. “The question of tariffs is off the table but Greenland is still on the table, transatlantic relationship is still an issue.”