Greenland issue has been successfully de-escalated - Dombrovskis

RIGA - Discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos were largely influenced by US President Donald Trump's claims regarding Greenland, but it now appears that the situation has been de-escalated, according to Valdis Dombrovskis (New Unity), Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People, told LETA.

According to the European Commissioner, Trump announced in his address in Davos that he would rule out the use of military force to take over Greenland and that the threat of introducing new tariffs had also been "basically removed from the table."

Dombrovskis pointed out that the US is currently in talks with Denmark and Greenland on how to strengthen security in the Arctic region, and that the responsible authorities in both Denmark and Greenland have already signaled their willingness to engage in dialogue with the US on security issues.

At the same time, the European Commissioner emphasized that in order to address security issues in the Arctic region, "it is not necessary to take over Greenland," but rather to cooperate with Denmark and Greenland. Dombrovskis added that Trump is no longer threatening to impose new tariffs on European Union (EU) member states.

Speaking more broadly about the tariff issue, Dombrovskis said that last year, when Trump began imposing tariffs, the EU entered into negotiations with the US and found a solution, as a result of which the EU accepted 15 percent tariffs on the bloc. At the same time, he stressed that it is unacceptable to resume talks on new tariffs, and the EU has made this clear to the US side-if new tariffs are introduced by the US, the EU will also be forced to respond. Dombrovskis emphasized that tariff escalation has a negative economic impact, as EU-US trade relations are the largest in the world.

Dombrovskis also explained that the publicly mentioned "European trade bazooka" is an EU countermeasure instrument that is not designed against any specific country and can be used against any country if necessary. He pointed out that the instrument is intended for situations where a country, by threatening to impose tariffs or other trade restrictions, attempts to force EU Member States or companies to accept or reject certain decisions.

The European Commissioner emphasized that in such cases, the EU may decide on various countermeasures, including tariffs, trade restrictions, investment restrictions, or other measures. Dombrovskis added that the instrument is also intended for situations where threats such as "if you don't sell us Greenland - we will impose tariffs" are made, and therefore, at the time when these threats existed, the EU held discussions on whether the countervailing instrument should be applied.

The AFP news agency reports that the United States and Denmark will renegotiate a 1951 defense pact on Greenland, a source familiar with talks between President Donald Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday.

The source said that European allies would also step up Arctic security, but insisted that placing American bases on Greenland under US sovereignty had not been discussed.

"The 1951 agreement will get renegotiated," the source said.

The defense agreement, updated in 2004, already gives Washington freedom to ramp up its troop deployments, provided it informs the authorities in Denmark and Greenland in advance.

The US currently has one base on Greenland -- the Pituffik Space Base on the northwest of the island that constitutes a crucial link in the US missile defense system.

Trump on Wednesday announced a framework deal after talks with Rutte at the World Economic Forum in Davos, but the details of the purported agreement remained vague.

Rutte said on Thursday one "work stream" to emerge from the meeting was "that we ensure that the Chinese and the Russians will not gain access to the Greenland economy" or militarily.

Trump's threats to take Greenland have rocked the transatlantic alliance and plunged NATO into its biggest crisis in decades.

Some European nations have pushed for NATO to launch a mission in the Arctic to try to shore up security in the region after Trump used it to justify his desire for Greenland.