{"id":246595,"date":"2026-01-22T19:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246595\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T19:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:12:08","slug":"eu-leaders-meet-in-brussels-to-discuss-new-reality-of-relations-with-us-european-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/246595\/","title":{"rendered":"EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss \u2018new reality\u2019 of relations with US | European Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

EU leaders are gathering in Brussels to discuss the volatile \u201cnew normal\u201d in transatlantic relations, after weeks of escalating threats from Donald Trump<\/a> over Greenland that were suddenly dropped over a vague deal on Arctic security.<\/p>\n

An emergency EU summit was hastily convened earlier this week after the US president announced he would impose 10% tariffs on eight European nations that defended Greenland<\/a>, an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark. Although Trump abandoned his tariff threat on Wednesday, EU officials said the summit remained necessary.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s decision to step back from tariffs<\/a> \u201cevidently changes a little the context of this European Council, but does not remove its interest,\u201d said a European diplomat, who evoked shifting tectonic plates in the geopolitical order. In the context of \u201cprofound geopolitical movements\u201d involving powers with great military and financial means \u201cthe Europeans must be capable of being sufficiently united and strong in defending their interests and defining their own path,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n

Leaders were meeting in a context, said a senior EU official, \u201cthat was more positive than it was 24 hours ago to discuss how they understand this new reality\u201d, citing \u201ca new normal of this very important and structural relationship between Europe<\/a> and the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n

The European parliament signalled on Thursday it was ready to reconsider its decision to freeze ratification of the EU-US trade deal, one of the bloc\u2019s strongest responses to Trump\u2019s tariff threats so far. MEPs had been expected to vote in February to approve 0% tariffs on many US goods, a key part of the trade agreement signed at Trump\u2019s Turnberry golf resort last summer, but pressed pause on the process on Wednesday in response to tariff threats.<\/p>\n

The head of the European parliament\u2019s trade committee, the German Social Democrat lawmaker Bernd Lange, said his committee would revisit the issue next week, while stressing that the EU needed to remain vigilant. \u201cThere is no room for false security,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cThe next threat is sure to come. That\u2019s why it is even more important that we set clear boundaries, use all available legal instruments [and] apply them as appropriate to the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to Trump\u2019s tariff threats, the EU had been discussing levying duties on \u20ac93bn of US goods<\/a>, as well as deploying its most powerful economic sanctions weapon, the anti-coercion instrument, which would allow the bloc to impose a broad range of economic penalties on US companies.<\/p>\n

Even the EU\u2019s most transatlantic-minded governments said such a response could be necessary if the tariffs went ahead.<\/p>\n

European leaders had watched with growing alarm as Trump insisted on a US takeover of Greenland, a move that threatened to split Nato and the wider western alliance. European governments feared failure to resist a US takeover of Greenland would cast legitimacy over a Chinese seizure of Taiwan or a Russian invasion of the Baltic states, smashing the post-1945 rules-based order.<\/p>\n

While that threat has subsided, for now, European leaders are also expected to share their concerns about Trump\u2019s proposed \u201cboard of peace\u201d, amid fears he is seeking to create a rival to the UN.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump holds a signed founding charter at the \u2018board of peace\u2019 meeting during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, as other world leaders stand behind. Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller\/EPA<\/p>\n

Launched in Davos<\/a> on Thursday, the \u201cboard of peace\u201d was initially part of Trump\u2019s peace and reconstruction plan for Gaza, but is morphing into an organisation with a sprawling geopolitical role<\/a> operating under his direct control. So far, Hungary and Bulgaria are the only EU member states to accept an invitation to join the \u201cboard of peace\u201d, while France, Sweden and non-EU Norway and the UK have all declined.<\/p>\n

\u201cA very large majority [of EU member states] have said they are not in a position to join the board as it stands,\u201d the EU official said, when asked whether European governments could join a \u201cboard of peace\u201d that included Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader wanted for war crimes against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The Russian leader is yet to confirm whether he intends to accept the US invitation to join, but has suggested he could pay the $1bn fee required for permanent membership using Russian assets that are largely frozen in Europe and earmarked for reparations for Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Summing up the transatlantic relationship, the official said it was a \u201cvery strong, but certainly more complex relationship with the US\u201d, replete with disagreements, tensions and points of cooperation. He added: \u201cWe have to live with the new complexity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EU leaders are gathering in Brussels to discuss the volatile \u201cnew normal\u201d in transatlantic relations, after weeks of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-246595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}