Germany declares Trump has crossed a red line in the Greenland case.

Germany considers the US President’s demand to annex Greenland an act of “extortion,” and calls on the EU to activate its anti-coercion mechanism in response.

Germany declares Trump has crossed a red line in the Greenland case.German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. Photo: Xinhua
On January 19th, speaking in Berlin, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil issued an official statement regarding the latest diplomatic tensions between the US and Europe.

He asserted that US President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland had crossed a “red line” for the European Union (EU), and that the 27-member bloc needed to consider using special legal tools to respond.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his French counterpart Roland Lescure, Klingbeil stressed that Europe is constantly facing new provocations and confrontational attitudes from the United States. He said this is the time for European countries to make it clear that the limits of tolerance have been reached.

Tensions escalated after President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced on January 17th that he would impose a 10% tariff on imported goods from eight European countries, effective February 1st. According to Trump’s proposed roadmap, this tariff would increase to 25% in June unless an agreement is reached regarding the “purchase of Greenland.”

Mr. Klingbeil proposed activating the “European legal toolkit,” a mechanism already established to respond to acts of coercion with sensitive sanctions.

Currently, the EU is urgently discussing countermeasures. Sources close to the matter say the bloc is considering imposing retaliatory tariffs on approximately 93 billion euros (equivalent to 108 billion USD) worth of US goods if President Trump carries out his threat.

Regarding the issue of sovereignty, Mr. Klingbeil affirmed that the territorial integrity of Greenland and Denmark is inviolable. He stated that in internal negotiations, the general consensus was not to yield to pressure.

Mr. Klingbeil also warned that Europe must be ready to act immediately and that preparations need to begin now, rather than waiting until the last minute.