BRUSSELS, Belgium, Jan 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - European leaders on Sunday hit 
back at US President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs over their opposition 
to his designs on Greenland, with far-right Italian leader Giorgia Meloni 
urging Washington against making a "mistake".

Trump has made no secret of his desire to seize the vast Arctic island, an 
autonomous territory of Denmark, since returning to the White House for a 
second term, and a ramping up of this claim in recent weeks has deeply shaken 
transatlantic relations.

He again upped the ante on Saturday, threatening to punish eight European 
countries with tariffs after they sent a few dozen troops to Greenland as 
part of a military drill.

Meloni, who has a good relationship with Trump, said she had told him it was 
a "mistake" to punish Europe economically.

"I believe that imposing new sanctions today would be a mistake," she told 
journalists during a trip to Seoul, adding that "I spoke to Donald Trump a 
few hours ago and told him what I think."

However, Meloni also sought to downplay the conflict, telling journalists 
"there has been a problem of understanding and communication" between Europe 
and the United States on Greenland.

She said it was up to NATO to take an active role in the growing crisis.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is planning to discuss the situation with 
Trump "at the earliest opportunity", UK Culture Minister Lisa Nandy told the 
BBC, calling the president's tariff threat "wrong".

"We believe it's deeply unhelpful, and we believe it's counterproductive, and 
the prime minister has not shied away from making that clear," she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron meanwhile called on the European Union to 
combat the threatened tariffs by deploying its powerful "anti-coercion 
instrument".

- Bring out the 'bazooka'? -

That weapon -- never used before and dubbed the EU's trade "bazooka" -- 
allows for curbing imports of goods and services.

Trump has threatened to impose a 10-percent tariff from February 1 on all 
goods sent to the United States from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, 
Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland.

That levy would then be increased to 25 percent on June 1 "until such time as 
a deal is reached for the complete and total purchase of Greenland", the US 
president said.

The EU, which clinched a deal in July for most EU exports to face a 15-
percent US levy, has called an extraordinary meeting of its ambassadors in 
Brussels on Sunday.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, president of the 
European Council, warned Saturday that tariffs would "undermine transatlantic 
relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral".

- 'Blackmail' -

Thousands of people in Greenland's capital Nuuk, Copenhagen and other Danish 
cities protested against the prospect of US annexation on Saturday.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen announced Sunday he would 
visit fellow NATO members Norway, the UK and Sweden in the coming days to 
discuss the alliance's Arctic security policy.

France's Agricultural Minister Annie Genevard warned that tariffs would hurt 
Washington, too.

"In this escalation of tariffs, (Trump) has a lot to lose as well, as do his 
own farmers and industrialists," she told broadcasters Europe 1 and CNews.

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel meanwhile called Trump's threat an 
"inexplicable" form of "blackmail".