Transatlantic relations aren't broken, though they are damaged. And if Europeans want to try to cut through with Trump, they'll have to stick together, writes Europe Editor Katya Adler
Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationWatch DocumentariesTechnologyScienceArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveConfronted over Greenland, Europe is ditching its softly-softly approach to Trump6 hours agoShareSaveKatya Adler Europe EditorShareSaveBBCSomething in Europe has snapped. Donald Trump doubled down again on Monday, in his insistence that the US needs Greenland for national security reasons.
Is he prepared to use force to seize it, journalists asked him? "No comment," said the president, sending chills down the spine of Greenland's anxious inhabitants. Again.
Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark - a member of the EU and of Nato. President Trump is now leaning heavily on Denmark's allies in both those organisations to abandon Copenhagen and let the US take control of Greenland, or face punitive taxes on all their exports to the United States.
It's a horror scenario for European economies, which are already in the doldrums. Especially those reliant on exporting to the US, like Germany's car industry and Italy's luxury goods market.
On Monday Germany's finance minister said, "we will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed" after an emergency meeting with his French counterpart.
The Trump threats landed like a slap in the face of European governments, who (separately, in the case of the EU and the UK) had only just settled tariff deals with the US president last year.
"We're living through uncharted territories. We've never seen this before. An ally, a friend of 250 years, is considering using tariffs… as a geopolitical weapon," said France's Finance Minister Roland Lescure.
His German counterpart Lars Klingbeil added: "A line has been crossed... You'll understand that today I'm not saying exactly what will happen. But one thing must be clear: Europe must be prepared."
All of a sudden, the softly-softly approach to Trump, that Europe's leaders had clearly favoured since he returned for a second term to the White House, seems to have passed its sell-by date.
It's too early to read the last rites on transatlantic relations altogether but the EU, at least, is hoping to approach the US president in Switzerland this Wednesday at the Global Economic Forum "speaking softly, while carrying a big stick"