{"id":254030,"date":"2026-01-20T09:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/254030\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T09:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:50:11","slug":"trump-agrees-to-davos-meeting-with-european-leaders-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/254030\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump agrees to Davos meeting with European leaders \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Key Reads<\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 36 minutes ago<\/p>\n

Situation has potential to cause a \u2018spiral of destabilising actions that could have dire consequences\u2019, says Simon Harris <\/p>\n

T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris has said it is important that \u201cintensive diplomatic efforts\u201d happen to try and de-escalate an \u201cextraordinarily dangerous economic situation\u201d. <\/p>\n

Speaking on his way into the Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels on Tuesday, the finance minister said when it comes to the EU-US relationship, \u201cthere is not an hour to spare\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely important that intensive diplomatic efforts are put under way to try and de-escalate an extraordinarily dangerous economic situation,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know that tariffs are bad for the Irish economy. They\u2019re bad for the European economy. They\u2019re bad for the US economy as well. But this is now deeper than that, also. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis has the potential to cause a spiral of destabilising actions that could have dire consequences. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo cool heads must prevail, and there is not a moment to lose and the next number of days will be crucial as Europe works to try and stabilise this situation and find a way forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we are always stronger the EU and the US when we co-operate, when we collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CypriotCypriot finance minister Makis Keravnos Sarmento and Simon Harris during the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting in Brussels. Photograph: EPA <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 44 minutes ago<\/p>\n

US president Donald Trump posted this on his Truth Social social media page earlier this morning.<\/p>\n

\"DonaldDonald Trump post on Truth Social on January 20th. Image: Truth Social Macron invites Trump to Paris for talks, texts show<\/p>\n

French president Emmanuel Macron is seeking to arrange an emergency G7 meeting in Paris, involving Trump, a private message between the two leaders shows, Europe correspondent Jack Power writes.<\/p>\n

In a text message to Mr Trump, Mr Macron said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not understand what you are doing on Greenland\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Macron offered to arrange a meeting of G7 powers, which includes the US, in Paris on Thursday, followed by a dinner between the French and US leaders. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet us have a dinner together in Paris together on Thursday before you go back to the us,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n

A screenshot of the full message was posted on Truth Social by Mr Trump this morning. A source in the \u00c9lys\u00e9e confirmed to The Irish Times that the text was genuine. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran. I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland. Let us try to build great things,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Mr Macron proposed inviting the Ukrainians, Danish, new Syrian government, and Russia to Paris for the talks on the margins of the proposed meeting.<\/p>\n

The texts give a glimpse into European leaders\u2019 efforts to engage Mr Trump, in a bid to encourage him to walk back his demands to buy or seize Greenland and hit European allies with more trade tariffs. <\/p>\n

\"FrenchFrench president Emmanuel Macron speaks as he leads a meeting on New-Caledonia at the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace in Paris on Monday. Photograph: Stephane de Sakutin, AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The Maga faith has not been shaken through what has been a disorienting year, Washington correspondent Keith Duggan writes. <\/p>\n

Trump has, at 79, transformed the White House into a volatile and unknowable force of change and whimsy.<\/p>\n

Read his full piece here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

European leaders are hoping to prevent a trade war breaking out with the United States over Greenland, but are preparing contingency plans to push back on Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cblackmail\u201d attempts, should high-stakes attempts to defuse tensions this week fail.<\/p>\n

Efforts to engage the White House are being stepped up and several EU leaders are expected to discuss the crisis in transatlantic relations with Mr Trump in Davos this week on the margins of the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n

It is understood top officials close to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen have been in contact with senior figures in the Trump administration, including Jared Kushner, to sound out the US president\u2019s intentions.<\/p>\n

Read our lead story this morning here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Fianna F\u00e1il MEP Barry Cowen has said Donald Trump, JD Vance and \u201cradical\u201d elements of their administration \u201cdo not speak for the American people\u201d, Europe correspondent Jack Power writes. <\/p>\n

In a speech to the European Parliament last night, the former agriculture minister said the US was breaking away from an international order it had helped to build and defend for decades. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t help but wonder, where are the voices in the US Congress who not so long ago stood for partnership and international law? Their silence is being heard across Europe,\u201d he told MEPs. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll in all, this is not simply a trade dispute. It is a test. A test of whether law still matters, whether alliances still matter and whether Europe is prepared to defend them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"FiannaFianna F\u00e1il MEP Barry Cowen has said Donald Trump, JD Vance and ‘radical’ elements of their administration ‘do not speak for the American people’. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago<\/p>\n

Good morning. US president Donald Trump has said he will impose a 200 per cent tariff on French wines and champagnes, a move he claimed would push French president Emmanuel Macron to join Trump\u2019s Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts.<\/p>\n

When asked by a reporter about Mr Macron saying he will not join the board, Trump said: \u201cDid he say that? Well, nobody wants him because he will be out of office very soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll put a 200 per cent tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he\u2019ll join, but he doesn\u2019t have to join,\u201d Mr Trump said.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump \u2060originally proposed establishing the board of peace when he announced last September his plan to \u2060end the war in Gaza. However an invitation sent to world leaders last week outlines a broad role ending conflicts \u2060globally.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump has also said that he thought European leaders would not \u201cpush back too much\u201d on his attempt to buy Greenland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re gonna push back too much. We have to have it. They have to have this done,\u201d he told reporters on Monday. <\/p>\n

The \u2060US president has said that he had a \u201cvery good\u201d telephone call with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte concerning Greenland.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump also said he had agreed to a meeting of various parties at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.<\/p>\n

Follow irishtimes.com for updates throughout the day. <\/p>\n

\"USUS president Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida on Monday. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key Reads Sarah Burns – 36 minutes ago Situation has potential to cause a \u2018spiral of destabilising actions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3025,969,2244,3024,42,43,40,38,41,39,90],"class_list":{"0":"post-254030","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-denmark","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-greenland","12":"tag-headlines","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories","18":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}