The European Parliament has frozen work on key legislative proposals related to the EU-US trade agreement after Washington made threats to Greenland and Denmark, the chairman of the EP's International Trade Committee, Bernd Lange, said on Tuesday.
The decision concerns the so-called "Turnberry" legislation, which was supposed to allow the EU to fulfill its commitments under the framework trade agreement with the US. After a meeting with shadow rapporteurs, Lange said that Parliament had initially worked actively to develop its position in order to start negotiations with the Council.
"The European Parliament has been working hard to define its position on the two legislative proposals from "Turnberry" in order to be able to start negotiations with the Council and to fulfil the EU's commitments under the EU-US agreement," Lange said.
The Turnberry agreement provided for the suspension of tariffs on all US industrial goods and the establishment of a system of tariff quotas for a wide range of US agricultural and food products entering the European market.
However, according to Lange, the US is undermining trust in trade relations by threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an EU member state and using tariffs as a means of pressure.
"Given the ongoing and escalating threats, including threats to introduce new tariffs, against Greenland and Denmark and their European allies, we have no alternative but to suspend work on the two "Turnberry" legislative proposals until the US decides to recommit to a path of cooperation rather than confrontation, and before further steps are taken, he said.
The shadow rapporteurs confirmed the European Parliament's "unwavering commitment" to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland.
The EU and the US reached a political agreement on customs and trade matters in July 2025, followed by a joint statement in August. The European Commission subsequently proposed two legislative measures to implement the customs elements of the Framework Agreement. The EP Committee on International Trade is responsible for the Parliament's position and negotiations with Member States on the final customs regime.