Brussels has formally suspended the ratification of its trade agreement with the United States following President Trump’s linkage of tariff threats with his Greenland ambitions. European lawmakers have characterized this approach as blackmail, prompting the parliament’s most significant material response to the escalating crisis.
According to Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s trade committee, no possibility for compromise exists while Greenland-related threats remain active. The frozen trade deal had been designed to provide American industrial exporters with zero-tariff access to European markets across multiple product categories.
The European Union has maintained its $750 billion energy purchase commitment, which officials confirm operates separately from the suspended trade agreement. This strategic distinction allows Brussels to preserve essential energy cooperation while defending political autonomy.
Diplomatic tensions escalated when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen changed her post-parliamentary plans. She bypassed a Davos stop where Trump was attending the World Economic Forum, returning instead directly to Brussels for emergency summit preparations.
Adding complexity to Europe’s trade challenges, parliament narrowly voted to refer the Mercosur deal with Latin American countries to the European Court of Justice. Lange, the European Commission, and German Chancellor Merz all criticized the decision, as did German automakers. While the Commission possesses authority to provisionally implement Mercosur similar to its Brexit approach, Lange issued a stark warning that such action would plunge the bloc into “huge institutional conflict” between parliament and the Commission. The Thursday summit will primarily address US relations, examining €93 billion in counter-tariffs and anti-coercion mechanisms.