BRUSSELS — The European Parliament’s leading trade lawmakers on Wednesday postponed a decision on whether to freeze a U.S. trade deal over Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland.  MEPs are due to hold a vote on Jan. 26, laying out the European Parliament’s position on lifting tariffs on U.S. industrial goods — one of the key planks of a deal struck between Brussels and Washington last summer. But some MEPs, angry at Trump’s behavior, don’t want the vote to go ahead, thereby freezing the decision on lifting the tariffs.  But at a meeting of lawmakers leading on the topic, they decided to delay taking a decision on whether to postpone or go ahead with the vote, awaiting the outcome of high-stakes meetings between Washington, Nuuk and Copenhagen taking place later Wednesday. “We are not in a position to move the agreement to a vote today,” lead trade lawmaker Karin Karlsbro, of the liberal Renew Europe, told POLITICO, adding that clarity from the U.S. on Greenland was essential.  Discussions will continue next Wednesday, the chair of the international trade committee, Bernd Lange, told POLITICO as he left the room. Political groups are divided over what to do in response to Trump’s threats to annex European territory. The Socialists and Democrats, of which Lange is a member, are leaning toward freezing the vote on the trade agreement. “One camp is more like, OK, let’s cooperate with the U.S. in order to get the maximum out, and there’s the other camp that says, OK we also need to show teeth and not give in on everything,” explained Green lawmaker Anna Cavazzini, who is also the chair of the internal market committee.  Cavazzini, who is in favor of freezing the deal, added that lawmakers agreed to delay the decision to “observe the global situation,” adding that the groups also need to agree on specific clauses in the final Parliament text.  The U.S. deal “will not be postponed,” assured EPP lawmaker Željana Zovko, telling POLITICO on Wednesday that any delay would hurt businesses as it would bring instability to transatlantic relations, while only Russia and China would benefit from it.  Under the deal struck in July, the EU committed itself to legislation lifting tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and lobsters, in exchange for Washington reducing tariffs on European cars. The deal is seen as lopsided in favor of Washington across party lines, but lawmakers were willing to put up with it in exchange for having Trump commit to protecting European security. As Greenland annexation threats continue, some no longer see the point of the deal. While the U.S. has upheld its end of the bargain on the car tariffs; the EU, so far, has not, because its institutions must still approve their positions on the Commission’s proposal. The lengthy process has already tested Washington’s patience, with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer telling POLITICO in December that the U.S. wouldn’t grant further tariff exemptions unless the EU keeps its end of the bargain. After the Council of the EU agreed on its position in late November, pressure is rising on the European Parliament to vote on its own stance.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has ruled out selling the island to the U.S. at upcoming crunch talks in Washington. Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen are set to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday to discuss President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the island. Asked Tuesday if those discussions could see Greenland agreeing to a purchase offer from the U.S., Nielsen said: “The mere talk of being able to buy another people is disrespectful.” Trump has repeatedly voiced his desire to buy the self-ruling Danish territory, calling it a strategic imperative, and has not ruled out using other methods, including military action, if Greenland and Denmark refuse to make a deal. “It’s easier,” Trump said Sunday, referring to buying the island. “But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.” Nielsen made the remarks during a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen and added that Greenlanders “choose Denmark,” vowing to stick together with the Danes. “We enter the room together,” he said. “We go out together, and we talk to the Americans together.” Frederiksen said “It has not been easy to stand up to completely unacceptable pressure from our closest allies for a lifetime. But there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us.”

The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland will make their case against Donald Trump’s threats over the Arctic island when they meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday, according to an EU diplomat familiar with the plans. While the talks have been mooted for some days, there was no confirmation of the details. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt will hold the discussions at the White House. The talks come after Trump ramped up his rhetoric on Greenland in a series of saber-rattling statements in recent days following his administration’s bombing raid on the Venezuelan capital and capture of leader Nicolás Maduro. In a sign of the increasing diplomatic activity, Motzfeldt and Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen will travel to Brussels on Monday for a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Both Copenhagen and Greenland, a self-ruling Danish territory, have rejected Trump’s designs on the island, which he has repeatedly stated is vital to American security interests. “I’d love to make a deal with them. It’s easier. But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that a U.S. invasion would lead to the end of NATO. European leaders have also pledged their support for Greenland’s right to self-determination, amid fears U.S. operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3 could embolden Trump to go after Greenland next.

The organizers of a traditional dog sled race in Greenland said they are investigating who sent an invitation to U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the island. The Greenland Dog Sledding Association (KNQK) published a statement on social media Tuesday saying an American journalist had informed them that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry had been invited to its annual race. The association said it was “unacceptable that political pressure is being exerted from outside” and described “the participation of foreign political actors” as “wholly inappropriate,” adding it was conducting an “investigation” to find out who invited Landry. Trump last month appointed Landry, a Republican who has been in office since early 2024, to lead his efforts to take control of Greenland. Landry called the “volunteer position” an “honor” in a post on social media and said he would work to “make Greenland a part of the U.S.” Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha was supposed to attend the dog sled race last year during an American tour of the island but canceled her participation after protests in the self-ruling Danish territory. Trump, who has claimed that controlling Greenland is a strategic imperative for the U.S. and Arctic security, recently mocked Copenhagen’s efforts to shore up the island’s defenses. “You know what their defense is? Two dog sleds,” he scoffed, apparently referencing Greenland’s dog sled patrols.

The leaders of the five political parties in Greenland’s parliament have a message for U.S. President Donald Trump: Leave us alone. “We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” the party leaders said in a joint statement Friday.  The statement comes after Trump has become increasingly explicit about his desire to take over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark — a desire made more real by recent U.S. strikes in Venezuela.  “We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House on Friday. “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we will do it the hard way,” he said. But the Greenlandic leaders pushed back, repeating their request to be left alone to manage their own affairs. “We would like to emphasize once again our desire for the U.S.’s disdain for our country to end,” they said. “The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people.” They added that they have increased their “international participation” in recent years. “We must again call for that dialogue to continue to be based on diplomacy and international principles,” they said in the statement. Taking over Greenland would be relatively simple, according to officials and experts, though Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that doing so would spell the end of NATO. Eight of Europe’s top leaders backed Greenland earlier this week, saying security in the Arctic must be achieved “collectively” and with full respect to the wishes of its people.

PARIS — France will delay this year’s Group of 7 summit to avoid a conflict with the mixed martial arts event planned at the White House on June 14, two officials with direct knowledge of G7 planning told POLITICO. Paris had previously announced that this year’s gathering of G7 leaders would take place from June 14 — which is both Flag Day in the U.S. and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday — to June 16 in Evian-les-Bains on the shores of Lake Geneva. But Trump in October announced that the White House would host a “big UFC fight” on June 14. Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White told CBS News Thursday that the logistics of the event have been finalized. White said the event will gather up to 5,000 people on the South Lawn of the White House. The G7 will now run from June 15 to June 17. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office declined to confirm whether the change, which has now been made official on the G7’s website, is directly linked to the UFC event and said the new schedule is “the result of our consultations with G7 partners.” The U.S. Embassy in Paris did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. The possibility that the G7 summit could be postponed because of Trump’s birthday was first reported by local media LeMessager.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Europe had barely switched off its out-of-office replies before geopolitics came roaring back. In the first days of January, events in Caracas — and rhetoric from Washington — jolted Brussels out of its post-holiday slumber and straight back into crisis mode. A U.S. special forces operation captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and left more than 100 people dead, reopening old questions about power, sovereignty and just how reliable an ally the United States really is. This week on EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by Allison Hoffman, Nick Vinocur, Eva Hartog and Bartosz Brzeziński to unpack what Donald Trump’s moves in Venezuela reveal about the world he’s shaping — and the uncomfortable position they leave Europe in. They dig into Moscow’s humiliation — and the opportunities it may see in chaos — renewed U.S. pressure over Greenland, Europe’s mounting doubts about American security guarantees for Ukraine, and how Brussels is trying to navigate a world where raw power seems to be back in fashion.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday cast fresh doubt on NATO’s reliability, saying he was not convinced the alliance would come to Washington’s aid in a crisis, as tensions rose over the White House’s renewed push to acquire Greenland. “I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM,” Trump blasted on Truth Social, while insisting the U.S. would still defend alliance members. “We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us.” Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s collective defense clause, an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all. The provision has been formally invoked only once — in response to al-Qaida’s 9/11 terror attack against the U.S. Trump’s remarks came a day after the White House said it was not ruling out military action to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally. Trump has repeatedly criticized the alliance and has long pressured members to boost defense spending, calling for increases from 2 percent of GDP to as much as 5 percent. His new comments follow days of escalating rhetoric over Greenland, a self-ruling Danish territory. The White House said late Tuesday that Trump was “discussing a range of options” to acquire the massive, mineral-rich Arctic island, stressing that the use of U.S. military force was not off the table. In his post, Trump said that military allies were failing to pay their fair share before his first term, while relying on the American security umbrella, and argued that without the U.S., Russia and China would “have zero fear of NATO.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned Monday that an American attack on another NATO country would mean “everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.” European leaders moved quickly to push back. On Tuesday, eight of Europe’s top leaders said Greenland’s security must be ensured collectively through NATO and with full respect for sovereignty and borders. On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Paris was working with European partners on a joint response, while officials in Berlin confirmed discussions were underway on safeguarding Greenland’s sovereignty. In his post, using an incorrect spelling for the iconic global award, Trump added: “Without my involvement, Russia would have ALL OF UKRAINE right now. Remember, also, I single-handedly ENDED 8 WARS, and Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to give me the Noble Peace Prize. But that doesn’t matter!”

OPTICS IN VALENCIA, FLEEING TRUMP The stories of disillusioned and fearful U.S. families seeking refuge from MAGA in Spain. Text and photos by MICHAEL ROBINSON CHÁVEZ in Valencia, Spain Mira Ibrisimovic, above, moves into her new apartment in Valencia, Spain. She left Colombia with her husband and children when her contract with U.S. Agency for International Development was terminated. Below, a naturalized U.S.-citizen who declined showing her face for this article fearing retaliation from the Trump administration. She recently moved to Valencia with her husband and their two children. In the first photo, Matt and Brett Cloninger-West shop at a local market. They left the U.S. early this year with their daughter. Matt and Brett Cloninger-West are getting a passionate crash course in the finer points of Spanish ham from the vendor at the public market. What part of the leg produces the leanest meat? The tastiest? What kinds of acorns are the pigs eating? They then move on to the produce stand, the bakery loaded with fresh bread and the cheese seller who had dozens of varieties from across the country on display.  This Old World shopping style has become one of the new joys of living in Valencia, Spain, where they moved from Washington, D.C., earlier this year. According to international real estate websites, Spain’s third-largest city has eclipsed Barcelona and Madrid as the top destination for American buyers and renters seeking to settle permanently. The Mediterranean city has long been included in lists of the “best cities to retire.” But a new group of residents is arriving — younger families with children fleeing what they see as the creeping authoritarianism of President Donald Trump’s America. Advertisement Brett Cloninger-West, 56, and his husband, Matt, 52, were both born in the United States and had well-paying, seemingly stable jobs in Washington. That all fell apart soon after Trump’s inauguration. Brett, a successful real estate agent for the past 18 years, and Matt, an IT specialist focused on strategic planning for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saw their livelihoods evaporate within weeks of the inauguration. “Within three weeks of the inauguration new business was down 75 percent,” Brett said. “Everyone was being fired.” Meanwhile, Matt received one of Elon Musk’s “fork in the road” emails. Musk was tearing up the federal government, eliminating tens of thousands of jobs, as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Matt realized his position was on the chopping block and reluctantly took a buyout. Unemployed and living in an increasingly tense and hostile city where soldiers patrolled the streets, they knew they had to leave the U.S. “The D.C. that I grew up in and spent my entire adult life in, no longer exists,” said Brett holding back tears. “I loved the place, even with all of its warts and hostilities. It really felt like home. “We didn’t want to leave, we had to,” said Brett. “It feels like an occupied city,” added Matt. “Why Valencia? Just walking outside and breathing the air,” explained Brett, “there is no tension in it. There is no hostility in it.” Mira Ibrisimovic and her husband, Mario Sanginés, oversee movers and boxes in their newly rented apartment. They recently arrived from Bogotá, Colombia, where Sanginés, now retired, worked for the Inter-American Development Bank, and Ibrisimovic was a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. That contract ended days after Trump’s inauguration. “It has been really traumatic,” said Ibrisimovic as she sipped a cappuccino. “The ending of 24 years of working for USAID … It was complete obliteration.” Ibrisimovic has faced obliteration before. She was born in Belgrade when it was still part of Yugoslavia. She remembers viewing the United States as a symbol of democracy, a place she once hoped to be part of. That hope has now been shattered: “For me, it’s the disillusionment with the United States. I always had the drive to go there, no matter the problems. I believed in what it stood for. My belief that the country believed in doing right has been shattered with Trump being elected twice.” Sanginés, who is originally from Bolivia, retired from the IDB this year. Spain had always been on the couple’s radar as a potential retirement spot and Sanginés has family in Barcelona. They didn’t expect it to be so soon.  “We still have a house in D.C. and the kids were born there, so there are still ties,” said Ibrisimovic, “but we did not want to go back and live there and raise our kids there for many reasons — the quality of life, safety, to be away from the toxic environment. It is not the right time with what is going on politically, but also culturally, socially and racially.”  Advertisement Many new arrivals in Valencia were afraid to speak out against Trump and his policies, fearing retaliation from the U.S. government. One of them, a middle-aged woman with two children, grew up in the Philippines during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Her family was outspokenly opposed to the dictator and fled to the U.S.  “I remember that at dinner time we would watch the news and watch the chaos happening in Manila. My mom and dad would be really worried,” she said. “I remember being that young and being scared.” Those memories flooded back after Trump’s reelection and inauguration. Her husband and friends told her not to worry, that the government was set up with checks and balances. “There won’t be this time,” she replied. “They are going to come for people who are here and who are not criminals. They are going to come for naturalized citizens. My kids said, ‘You’re crazy.’ Everything I said came true.” Her husband had never been to Spain. In March he visited Valencia and, after reading more headlines about ICE raids and detentions on the streets of American cities, decided they really needed to leave. She hadn’t been waiting for his green light: She had already taken care of all the paperwork for the move. She chose Valencia because she already had friends living there who praised the city: safe, easy to get around, excellent schools, and affordable, quality health care. Any concerns about how their two children would adjust to their new home quickly disappeared. Both children are thriving academically and socially and the youngest already has a girlfriend. “It’s not like vacation any more,” her oldest child said. “It feels like home.” The family did not want any identifying details to be included in this report or photographs, fearing repercussions. Advertisement At a trendy café in Russafa, a neighborhood popular with expats and experiencing rising housing prices, the sounds of Joni Mitchell and Neil Young drifted from the speakers as patrons sipped matcha lattes and enjoyed homemade gluten-free cakes. Most spoke in American-accented English. At one table, another naturalized citizen and his wife, who was born in the United States, discussed their decision to leave the country after Trump became president-elect in November 2024. They asked to remain anonymous for this article. “We often worry for our family and friends who are there,” one of them said. “If someone told me years ago that this would be happening, I’d say they lost it, that it was a conspiracy theory. It is just bizarre.”  “We thought about moving for a long time, more to see the world than to leave the U.S.,” one of them explained. They didn’t want their children growing up in what they called a “toxic atmosphere” in Texas. One of them worked for a company linked to the government. Politics was never brought up at work until after Trump’s inauguration, when the owner and managers started to boast about their support for the MAGA movement.   “We became fearful about going out. Our kids aren’t naturalized citizens since they’re born in the U.S., but I am. Our fear was for my citizenship, and therefore, my passport to be revoked, leaving me without a country to belong in.” A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR AFRAID TO SPEAK, FOR THE FIRST TIME I have covered civil wars and authoritarian regimes across five continents, but this is the first time I have heard such fear from U.S. citizens about their own government. While reporting this story in Valencia, I met many Americans who were unwilling to speak and declined to be interviewed for this report, fearing retaliation from Trump’s administration. A few others were willing to go on the record, but anonymously and without their photos in the story. This was especially true for people of color and naturalized citizens. Some worried their families back home would be “rounded up” or that they would lose their jobs, while others feared their passports wouldn’t be renewed or even confiscated. Some said they had scrubbed their social media accounts. I had encountered similar testimonies in places such as Russia, Iraq or Congo — but never about the U.S. Advertisement

If U.S. President Donald Trump invades Greenland, it will spell the end of NATO, Denmark’s leader warned.  Trump, who last week ratcheted up threats to take over the self-ruling Danish territory in the Arctic, should be taken “seriously when he says that he wants Greenland,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in an interview with broadcaster TV2.   “But I will also make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen added.  Trump has long pushed for the mineral-rich island, which is largely autonomous but part of Denmark and therefore belongs to the NATO military alliance, to join the U.S., calling it a strategic necessity and refusing to rule out using force or economic coercion.   “We need Greenland from a national security situation,” he told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. “We will deal with Greenland in about two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days,” he added, without giving more information about what would happen then.   Trump’s latest remarks came after the U.S. launched strikes on Venezuela and arrested its leader, Nicolás Maduro. The dramatic raid has raised fears in Europe that Washington could feel emboldened to annex Greenland next, with leaders from the Nordic nations to the United Kingdom pledging their support for Copenhagen and Greenland’s right to self-determination.