The European Union will hold an emergency meeting of its ambassadors in Brussels on Sunday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would hit eight member countries with tariffs until a deal is struck to allow the United States to purchase Greenland, a spokesperson for the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council confirms to NBC News.
Members of the European Parliament and some American lawmakers were among the political leaders who expressed their opposition to the tariff threats Saturday, and to Trump’s goal of bringing the Danish territory under U.S. control.
“The measures against NATO allies announced today will not help in ensuring security in the Arctic,” wrote Roberta Metsola of Malta, who serves as president of the European Parliament, in a post on X. “They risk the opposite, emboldening our joint enemies and those who wish to destroy our common values and way of life.”
She added, “Greenland and Denmark have both made clear: Greenland is not for sale and its sovereignty and territorial integrity needs to be respected. No threat of tariffs can or will change that fact.”
Kaja Kallas of Estonia, the vice president of the European Commission and the EU’s chief diplomat, said that China and Russia “must be having a field day” with Trump’s announcement, saying they are the only ones who stand to gain from “divisions among Allies.”
“If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO,” Kallas wrote on X. “Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity.”
“We also cannot let our dispute distract us from the our core task of helping to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” she added.
Several European political leaders signaled a desire to halt final approval of an EU-U.S. trade deal that was reached last summer and already partly implemented, but which still requires passage in the European Parliament to become official.
Chief among them was Bernd Lange, the European Parliament’s longtime international trade committee chief.
“New US-Tariffs for several nations are unbelievable,” Lange wrote on X. “This is no way to treat partners. A new line has been crossed. Unacceptable.”
Trump, he said, is “using trade as an instrument of political coercion. The EU cannot simply move on to business as usual.” Lange called on the trade deal’s implementation process “to be suspended until US ends its threats.”
Manfred Weber, the German politician who heads the European People’s Party, said on X that the party was in favor of a EU-U.S. trade deal, but that following Trump’s threats, approval “is not possible at this stage.”
“The 0% tariffs on U.S. products must be put on hold,” wrote Weber.
European Parliament member Siegfried Muresan said on X Saturday that postponing a proposed trade deal between the U.S. and the EU was justified following Trump’s tariff announcement.
“STABILITY would have been the only gain from last year‘s trade deal between the US and the European Union,” Muresan wrote.
“Today’s announcement by President Trump to eventually impose new tariffs on several EU member states takes away that stability,” he added.
David van Weel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, said his country had “taken note” of Trump’s tariff announcements.
“Military efforts related to exercises in Greenland are intended to contribute to security in the Arctic region. The Netherlands is in close contact with the @EU_Commission and partners on our response,” van Weel wrote.
Trump’s statement on the tariffs provoked a reaction from U.S. lawmakers as well.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers met the leaders of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen Friday to reassure them of congressional support, despite President Trump’s threats to seize the Arctic island.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, issued a statement from Copenhagen, Denmark, where a bipartisan congressional delegation was meeting with Danish officials in the hopes of improving relations after Trump’s repeated comments regarding Greenland.
“At a time when many Americans are already concerned about the cost of living, these tariffs would raise prices for both families and businesses. We urge the administration to turn off the threats and turn on diplomacy,” they said.
“The United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway are America’s closest allies. They are our NATO allies who have fought beside us, died alongside us and have made America safer and more prosperous,” they added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Saturday that Democrats will introduce legislation to block Trump’s tariffs on European countries, “before they do further damage to the American economy and our allies in Europe.”
“Donald Trump’s foolhardy tariffs have already driven up prices and damaged our economy and now he is only making things worse,” Schumer wrote. “It is incredible that he wants to double down on the stupidity by imposing tariffs on our closest allies for his quixotic quest to takeover Greenland.”
The Senate has previously passed similar resolutions to rein in Trump’s tariffs with bipartisan support, as they only have a 51-vote threshold. However, should it pass in the Senate, this measure is very unlikely to be taken up in the House.
Brennan Leach contributed.
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