Europe must respond to US threats over Greenland and China’s industrial excesses, or else “passively accept ... vassalisation and bloc politics”, French President Emmanuel Macron warned in a speech at Davos on Tuesday.
Macron warned of the “brutalisation of the world”, as he urged the use of the EU’s most powerful trade weapon in response to US President Donald Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on European countries who last week sent troops to Greenland.
Trump has pledged to make the giant Arctic island – a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark – part of the United States, sparking a messy debate in Europe over how to react.
“Europe has very strong tools now, and we have to use them. The anti-coercion mechanism is a powerful instrument, and we should not hesitate to deploy it,” said Macron, who added that it was “crazy ... that we can be put in a situation” to use the weapon “for the very first time, vis-a-vis the US”.
The anti-coercion instrument (ACI) must be triggered by the European Commission and agreed upon by a qualified majority of member states. It affords Brussels sweeping retaliatory powers, including tariffs, quotas and market bans.
Von der Leyen prefers cautious tone in response to Trump threats
Earlier on Tuesday, commission leader Ursula von der Leyen chose a more careful tone in response to Trump’s threats, but still vowed to respond should Washington follow through.
“Plunging us into a dangerous downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of our strategic landscape,” von der Leyen said, in a speech that pushed for an “independent Europe”.
“So our response will be unflinching, united and proportional.”
“When I used this term European independence around a year ago, I was surprised at the sceptical reactions. But less than one year on, there is now a real consensus around this. The sheer speed and almost unthinkable scale of the change have driven this,” said the German official, who warned that “nostalgia will not bring the old order back”.
“Playing for time – and hoping for things to revert soon – will not fix the structural dependencies we have. So my point is: if this change is permanent, then Europe must change permanently too. It is time to seize this opportunity and build a new independent Europe.”
After a brutal 2025, the bloc has hardly fared better at the start of 2026. A trade deal agreed between Brussels and Washington is on life support, with the European Parliament downing tools on its ratification over the Greenland crisis.
European leaders awoke to new threats from Trump to slap a 200 per cent tariff on French wines and champagnes, after Macron declined his invitation to join a US-backed “Board of Peace”, which requests a US$1 billion donation to attain permanent membership.
The French leader said we are moving “towards a world without rules”.
“With the brutalisation of the world, France and Europe must defend an effective multilateralism, because it serves our interests and those of all who refuse to submit to the rule of force,” Macron said, in an impassioned defence of the continent.
“Europe may be slow, but it is predictable, loyal and governed by law. But we do prefer respect to bullies, we do prefer science to obscurantism, and we do prefer rule of law to brutality. You are welcome in Europe, and you are welcome in France,” he added, accusing the US of “openly aiming to weaken and subordinate Europe”.
Despite the transatlantic drift, neither von der Leyen nor Macron extended an olive branch to Beijing during their addresses, despite some expectation that Europe would follow the example of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last week, who dramatically pivoted to China in response to US hostility.
Instead, Macron reserved some ire for China’s economic policies, namely “under consumption and over investment”, which he described as one of the three major imbalances in the world today, along with US overconsumption and European underinvestment.
“Protection doesn’t mean protectionism. Today, Europe is the only market open to everybody without checking the level playing field. Nobody can access the Chinese market as people are accessing the European market,” Macron said.
“The Europeans are the only ones not to protect their companies when others do not respect the rules.”
He added that “China is welcome, but what we need is more Chinese foreign investment in Europe, in key sectors ... not exports of subsidised products that undermine European industry”.
China to ‘vigorously boost consumption’, says vice-premier He Lifeng
Earlier in the day, China’s vice-premier He Lifeng used his Davos slot to push back against claims of overcapacities and to pledge to bolster Chinese consumption.
“China has put domestic demand on top of its economic agenda this year. It’s working on an income growth plan for both urban and rural residents to vigorously boost consumption and make itself a consumption powerhouse on top of a manufacturing powerhouse,” said He.
Behind the scenes at Davos, a flurry of diplomacy around Greenland is expected when Trump arrives on Thursday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz – who has played down the prospect of using the ACI – has said he intended to meet the US leader to restore the focus to Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters on the margins of the World Economic Forum, California Governor Gavin Newsom urged the Europeans to hit back.
“The Europeans should decide for themselves what to do. But one thing they can’t do is what they’ve been doing ... [Trump is] a T. Rex,” he said.
“You mate with him, or he devours you, one or the other, and you need to stand up to it ... They need to stand tall, stand firm, stand united.” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
