For the first time in so many years, the EU is being pushed to the wall by the US, for the first time in so many years, the EU and the US are at odds, writes Focus.
According to The New York Times, Donald Trump’s ultimatum to sell Greenland has put pressure on the EU. In this situation, Europe must either maintain its dependence on the United States to support Ukraine, or enter into a direct confrontation with Washington to protect the sovereignty of an EU and NATO member state.
European leaders have long been trying to avoid escalating tensions with the White House, as too much depends on the US – especially in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. But within the EU, there is a growing understanding that a concession on Greenland would set a dangerous precedent. Pressure through tariffs would be effective even against allies. It would also send a disastrous signal about the bloc's real capabilities. The Guardian notes that if the EU proves unable to defend the sovereignty of one of its members from external pressure, it would show Ukraine that it cannot count on Europe's support.
A few days ago, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of this famous "big bazooka" against the EU, but the truth is that the EU is only looking for dialogue and does not have many moves ahead of it.
According to the Financial Times, EU member states are considering imposing tariffs on the US worth 93 billion euros or restricting access to the bloc's market for American companies.
But at the end of July 2025, many EU leaders laughed at Ursula von der Leyen. Then she and President Trump reached a trade deal that imposes 15% tariffs on almost all European exports to US markets. The bloc also pledged to buy $750 billion in energy products over the next three years and invest an additional $600 billion in the US economy.
"This was the best we could have gotten", Von der Leyen said, according to Reuters.
And against these numbers and tariffs, at the end of 2025 the European Union decided to provide an interest-free loan of 90 billion euros to Kiev to help with reconstruction and defense. The money is being disbursed for 2026 and 2027. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has long opposed EU policies and the bloc has tried to "isolate" said that Ukraine demands $800 billion from the Europeans over the next ten years.
Europe faces a very difficult choice – Ukraine or Greenland
European leaders have long been trying to avoid escalating tensions with the White House, as too much depends on the US – especially in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine
Jan 19, 2026 14:15 51
