Tusk, wake-up call for Europe after Trump says he'll deal with Greenland in 20 days: “Otherwise we're done”
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on European Union countries on Monday to “remain more united than ever”.
Washington's military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears over Greenland, which Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex given its strategic position in the Arctic.
Tusk's call comes in the context in which the US launched attacks in Venezuela to capture the leader of Caracas, Nicolas Maduro, on which occasion the American president reiterated this objective, comments Politico.
In fact, it is an ambition first expressed in 2019 during his first presidential term, according to Reuters.
Poland's prime minister has issued a dire warning about Europe's future, saying the continent is “finished” without unity, after a week of fractures in EU countries' foreign policy positions.
Europe will not be taken 'seriously'
Tusk, a pro-European centrist, wrote on social media on Monday that Europe will not be taken “seriously” if it is “weak and divided: no enemies, no allies”.
“It is already clear now. We must finally believe in our own strength, we must continue to arm ourselves, we must remain united like never before,” he said. “One for all and all for one. Otherwise, we're done.”
Tusk's warning came after US President Donald Trump renewed his threats to seize control of Greenland, the self-governing Danish territory he has long coveted.
“We need Greenland for reasons of national security,” the US leader told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
“We'll deal with Greenland in about two months. Let's talk about Greenland in 20 days,” he added, without elaborating on what he meant.
Fears of taking over Greenland
The dramatic operation sparked fears in Europe that Washington could try to take over Greenland, prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to react strongly.
Annexing the Arctic island “would make absolutely no sense”, she said on Sunday, with Nordic countries Norway, Finland and Sweden voicing their support.
And the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens Frederik Nielsen, reacted to the repeated threats of the American President Donald Trump that he would “take care” of the Arctic island to annex it, according to AFP and RTE.
“No more pressure. No more innuendo. No more annexation fantasies. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussion. But this must be done through the proper channels and in accordance with international law,” Nielsen wrote on Facebook.
“Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must decide the future of Greenland and no one else,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, according to Reuters. Starmer has tried to maintain good relations with Trump and has taken a less critical approach in public than most other European leaders.
The EU's response to the US intervention in Venezuela has been somewhat mixed. High Representative Kaja Kallas called for “restraint” in a statement that won the support of 26 member states, excluding Hungary.
Spain supports the declaration of Latin American countries
Spain, meanwhile, struck a discordant note and joined the five Latin American countries in a much stronger statement, condemning Washington's attack on Venezuela's sovereignty and demanding that the country's natural resources not be exploited, as Trump said US companies would invest money in national infrastructure. However, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also said his country “did not recognize the Maduro regime.”
While most EU member states issued their own cautiously worded statements urging respect for international law, Italy took a more favorable stance, calling military action “legitimate against hybrid attacks on security”.
But Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, an admirer of Donald Trump, was scathing, saying the US incursion into Venezuela was “further evidence of the disintegration of the world order”, and in a Facebook post on Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the “liberal world order is disintegrating”.
Romania's position
Diplomacy from Bucharest, through the voice of the foreign minister, Oana Țoiu, appreciated the American intervention in Venezuela. Instead, President Nicușor Dan, who as head of state represents the Romanian state at the international level, did not have any public reaction regarding the operation to capture Nicolas Maduro.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan declared, on Saturday evening, that until that moment he had not discussed the situation in Venezuela with the head of state, but that he was following what was happening in this country, whose leadership Romania did not recognize, so our country does not have a consulate in Caracas. He added that Romania will be in line with the position of the European Union.
Instead, Călin Georgescu, the former presidential candidate, said on Monday that American President Donald Trump “is a man of action, who does not admit the theft of elections” and, after Venezuela, he could also intervene in Europe.
