Great Davos Divorce: How US Allies Drew Red Line On Trump's Greenland Gambit

As US President Donald Trump continues his relentless pursuit of Greenland, some of America's closest allies have declared an end to the United States-led global order. European leaders are looking to present a united front on Denmark's Arctic island in Davos, indicating that the days when the world tiptoed around Trump, whose first year in office has upended the global geopolitical and economic order, are over.

What World Leaders Said

French President Emmanuel Macron said the European Union should not bend to "the law of the strongest", adding that it was "crazy" that the bloc was having to contemplate using its "anti-coercion instrument" against the United States.

"We do believe that we need more growth, we need more stability in this world, but we do prefer respect to bullies. And we do prefer rule of law to brutality," Macron told the World Economic Forum's annual meeting, the day before Trump arrived in Switzerland.

Macron wore aviator sunglasses during his speech, which the Elysee Palace said was to protect his eyes because of a burst blood vessel.

The unusually blunt rhetoric echoed across the World Economic Forum (WEF), where Trump is set to land on Wednesday to attend a summit already gripped by diplomatic tension and market anxiety.

Without directly naming Trump, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted a need to respond to seismic shifts in the world and said the speed and scale of change had driven a consensus in Europe on independence.

"It is time to seize this opportunity and build a new independent Europe," she said in a speech.

Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the 27-member bloc was "at a crossroads" where it must decide on how to get out of a "very bad position" after trying to appease Trump to get his support for the Ukraine war.

"Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else," De Wever said of Trump's threats to impose tariffs over Greenland. 

"If you back down now, you will lose your dignity... So we should unite, and we should say to Donald Trump ... 'You're crossing red lines here.' We either stand together or we will stand divided," he said on a panel discussion.

But the most blunt verdict came from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who told the audience at Davos that the US‑led global system of governance is enduring "a rupture," defined by great power competition and a "fading" rules‑based order.

"Let me be clear: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition... We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false. The strongest would exempt themselves when convenient. That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. ... That international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim," he said. 

Carney, who has repeatedly warned that the world was not going to return to a pre‑Trump normal since entering Canadian politics last year, noted that Canada had benefited from the old "rules‑based international order", including from "American hegemony" that "helped provide public goods: open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security, and support for frameworks for resolving disputes."

"Call it what it is: a system of intensifying great power rivalry where the most powerful pursue their interests using economic integration as coercion."

In an apparent warning against efforts to appease major powers, Carney said countries like Canada can no longer hope that "compliance will buy safety."

"It won't," he said.

"The question for middle powers, like Canada, is not whether to adapt to this new reality. We must. The question is whether we adapt by simply building higher walls -- or whether we can do something more ambitious."

"Middle powers must act together, because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu," Carney said.

"Great powers can afford for now to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not."

EU's Plan Ahead

European Union leaders have decided over the weekend to convene in Brussels on Thursday evening for an emergency summit on Greenland. Tariffs on 93 billion euros of US goods, which the EU set aside when Trump agreed to a trade deal with the bloc last summer, could snap into place on February 6.

Macron has pushed for the EU to also consider the first use of its Anti-Coercion Instrument, informally known as the "trade bazooka", which could limit US access to public tenders or restrict trade in services such as tech platforms. Macron said on Tuesday it was "crazy" that it had gone that far.

America's Soured Ties

Trump's relationship with Europe as a whole has deeply soured over his push to wrest sovereignty over the Arctic island from fellow NATO member Denmark, rattling European industry and sending shockwaves through financial markets. The rupture is visible on issues beyond Greenland and trade as well. 

Hungary remains the only European country which joined Trump's newly announced "Board of Peace", underscoring the extent to which trust has eroded. The US President has even taken offence at France's reluctance to join a proposed Board of Peace, a new international organisation that he would lead. Paris has voiced concern over its impact on the role of the United Nations. When asked about Macron's stance on the Board of Peace, Trump said late on Monday, "I'll put a 200 per cent tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he'll join, but he doesn't have to join."

Trump has said that he plans to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and other parties to discuss Greenland during his Davos trip – but many of the most relevant parties are likely not to join the meeting. Denmark's prime minister skipped Davos altogether to avoid Trump, while Macron departed Switzerland without meeting the US leader. 

The participation of leaders of Germany and the UK is also not confirmed.