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• 3m ago’Future of Greenland is only for Greenlanders to decide,’ EU’s von der Leyen reiterates
• 6m agoMorning opening: Brace, brace

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‘Future of Greenland is only for Greenlanders to decide,’ EU’s von der Leyen reiterates

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen reiterated that “the future of Greenland is only for the Greenlanders to decide” as she warned that Europe needs to “transform the ways in which we think and act” to step up to challenges posed by the rapidly changing world order.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images

She said that Europe needed to realise “we now live in a world defined by raw power,” adding that “in this increasingly lawless world, Europe needs its own levers of power” and abandon its “traditional caution” to build on its economic might and become more independent.

Speaking at the European parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, von der Leyen also repeated the key lines from her Davos speech yesterday, warning that the US threat of tariffs on EU partners over Greenland could send the relations into “a dangerous downward spiral” and “only embolden the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.”

“Greenland is not just a territory in a key region of the world map, and the land rich in critical raw materials, a strategic outpost on emerging global sea routes. It’s all of these things, but above all, Greenland is home to a free and sovereign people. It is a nation with its sovereignty and its right to territorial integrity, and the future of Greenland is only for the Greenlanders to decide,” she said.

Von der Leyen also said “it is more important than ever that we keep focusing on Ukraine,” continuing the bloc’s support for the wartorn country.

Morning opening: Brace, brace

Jakub Krupa

What is he going to say, then?

After days of speculations, today is the day, as Donald Trump is set to address the World Economic Forum in Davos, talking about his latest thinking on the emerging new global order, business, trade, the US role in the world, and, erm, whatever else he will come up with on the spot.

US president Donald Trump departs after speaking during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on January 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

It’s fitting that his slot comes a day after Canadian prime minister Mark Carney warned in his now viral speech that the US-led global system of governance is enduring “a rupture,” defined by great power competition and a “fading” rules-based order.

“More recently, great powers began using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited,” he said.

Yes, he meant Donald Trump.

Let’s see what the US presidents wants to say in response.

There is a very long list of things that European leaders – some in the room, some glued to their computers and TVs (good morning, Copenhagen) – will be looking out for as they want to figure out Trump’s next steps on Ukraine, Nato, and EU-US trade.

And it’s more likely than not that they will not like the answers.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent offered a taste of what is likely to come as he replied to a question on Danish investments in the UK last night by saying, in a bullish style that we have become accustomed to from this administration, that “Denmark’s investment in US treasury bonds, like Denmark itself, is irrelevant.”

Before then, we will also hear from a number of other key European leaders attending Davos, including Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte and Finland’s influential president Alexander Stubb. Let’s see what they have to say.

I will bring you all the updates here. It’s a busy day ahead.

It’s Wednesday, 21 January 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.