Dutch foreign affairs minister David van Weel has said Europe must defend its “red lines” over Greenland’s sovereignty, but also avoid being dragged into a damaging trade war with the United States.

Van Weel called the row over US president Donald Trump’s determination to take over Greenland, either through a forced sale or military intervention, a “wake-up call” for the EU to “take back power, economically but also militarily.”

“If we no longer respect the territorial integrity of our allies, there’s no way back,” he told the Parool newspaper. “And I also believe that there are plenty of other options when it comes to Greenland’s security.”

Van Weel was speaking ahead of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where Greenland is expected to dominate discussions between world leaders.

Trump said at the weekend he would impose 10% tariffs on eight countries, that sent reconnaissance troops to Greenland, including the Netherlands, from February 1 and raise them to 25% in June unless the countries bowed to his demands to sell the Arctic island to the US.

Referring to Trump’s insistence that “we have to have Greenland”, Van Weel said: “We’re not in the schoolyard, so that’s not how it works. We take Trump absolutely seriously, but we shouldn’t take everything literally.

Trade bazooka

“I hope that some of the American rhetoric is intended to put pressure on the discussions in the coming days. I have no problem with that.

“We want to have those discussions, but there are red lines too, and we support Denmark and Greenland.”

Van Weel also defended his earlier comments that the US could purchase Greenland if the islanders and the Danish government to it.

“I meant it technically,” he said. “But we know that Greenlanders don’t want to be part of America, so that’s obviously what matters.”

Van Weel also cautioned against the EU taking strong retaliatory measures, such as imposing higher tariffs against the US or invoking the Anti-Coercion Instrument, known as the “trade bazooka”.

“A trade war with such an important partner is not in our interests,” he said.

“Brussels has its bazooka ready, with high tariffs. But I would say that if you fire a bazooka, you get a recoil, and that will bring problems.

‘Daddy’ diplomacy

“Every measure we take will mean pain for ourselves and possible escalation. So my absolute preference is for us to come together before February 1 and make sure the tariffs are dropped.”

Opposition politicians this week called on the cabinet to toughen its stance against Trump, accusing defence minister Ruben Brekelmans of “lagging behind” France and Germany.

“It’s high time to stop the embarrassing ‘Daddy’ diplomacy and stand up straight for our values and interests,” said GroenLinks-PvdA foreign affairs spokeswoman Kati Piri.

Brekelmans said the government’s priority was to ensure the 27 European nations, along with the UK and Norway, agreed on a common line ahead of the Davos summit.

He pointed out that France and Germany had also shown differences, with French president Emmanuel Macron favouring the “bazooka” approach while Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned about the consequences of a trade war.

Brekelmans warned of the potential risks to Ukraine of a rift between the US and the EU. “It is in our interests not to end up with a trade war and a cessation of support for Ukraine,” he said.