The gathering in Davos, Switzerland, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to push for the seizure of Greenland and the imposition of trade tariffs for countries that disagree.
The Unhappy Slaves of the EU
French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a “new colonial approach” that would undermine decades of collaboration.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that with Trump’s Greenland provocations, “so many red lines have been crossed” in Europe.
“Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else. If you back down now you’re going to lose your dignity,” he said during a Davos panel discussion on redefining Europe’s place in the world.
Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, urged countries below the top tier of global power to continue multilateral cooperation with a new, “dense web of connections.”
He added, “It’s a shift towards a world without rules. Where international law is trampled underfoot and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest, and imperial ambitions are resurfacing.”
Then he specifically addressed the Trump administration, denouncing “competition from the United States of America, through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions, and openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe, combined with an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable, even more so when they are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty.”
“Great powers can afford, for now, to go it alone. They have the market size, the military capacity, and the leverage to dictate terms. Middle powers do not,” the Canadian prime minister said.
Can they? He was a banker; perhaps he knows. It’s questionable whether they are still great powers.
A Few Points
Scott Bessent isn’t that concerned and played down the rift. That is probably because they can’t possibly survive without the US.
A couple of points ato be made. The EU is considering expanding to include Ukraine and Moldova in the EU as mini members. That sounds colonial, and puts them right on Russia’s border.
The EU continues to push the war in Ukraine while buying Russian oil and financing the Russians four years after the war began.
The EU has placed tariffs on US goods for decades. We didn’t place tariffs on them. As for them being slaves, we have been theirs for decades.
Lastly, as President Trump has said, the EU relies on the U.S. for its defense and trade.
Scott Bessent brought up an eye-opening datapoint in Davos.
Since 1980, the US has spent $22 trillion more on defense than all other NATO members combined. They preferred to ramp up welfare instead. That’s about two-thirds of outstanding US debt.
Have you said thank you once? pic.twitter.com/FNRYyni12N
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) January 20, 2026
All that being said, I don’t want Greenland.
Both Europe and Canada are hypocrites, I don t know about all tariffs but I know Canada has been for many many years imposing super high tariffs on US dairy as high as 200% to make sure almost none is sold in Canada…..And Europe has been for many years imposing tariffs of I think it is 30 % on American… Read more »
Greenland would offer and immense strategic advantage to our country, although the strongest reason for acquiring it would be to keep it out of China’s or Russia’s hands. We need to cast Europe, NATO and the pathetic, America-hating UN adrift and let each of these survive or die on its own. Europe should figure out how to compensate Denmark and… Read more »
Moldova is a key location for NATO troops to enter Ukraine. It was the earlier identified path in plans.
I think Trump wants China out of Greenland and is intimidating Europe to cooperate. Broke Europe could use Greenland assets sold to China to make money.