EU leaders take stage in Davos

EUROPEAN leaders took the stage yesterday ahead of Donald Trump at the gathering of global elites in Davos, as the US president dangles tariff threats in a bid to pressure the EU over Greenland.

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Trump is set to dominate the week at the Swiss ski resort, saying he would take part in a meeting of “various parties” while there about his bid to take over the Arctic island.

A US delegation is already on the ground to promote an American agenda that has unsettled the global order cherished by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron were to address the forum yesterday, along with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose countries have their own disputes with Trump.

Trump will deliver a speech today and participate in other events tomorrow.

Europe is weighing countermeasures after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland standoff.

The US president said he did not think European leaders would “push back too much” on his attempt to buy the vast Arctic island, telling reporters: “They have to have this done. They can't protect it”

“I had a very good telephone call with Mark Rutte, the Secretary General of NATO, concerning Greenland” Trump posted on his TruthSocial platform late Monday.

“I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland”