Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Helen McEntee, has criticised US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on countries over opposition to US plans to annex Greenland.
She described the move as “completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable."
Her statement came as EU ambassadors convened an emergency meeting later today in Brussels following Trump’s announcement that tariffs would begin at 10% and rise to the mid-20s by mid-summer unless European states “get out of the way” of US ambitions in Greenland.
“Peace and security depend on all UN member states abiding by the fundamental principles of the UN Charter,” McEntee said.
“We have seen the appalling and unacceptable consequences when states do not do so. There can be no lasting peace and security in a world where these principles are ignored and undermined.”
She reaffirmed Ireland’s position in relation to Greenland:
“The future of Greenland is a matter to be determined by Denmark and the Greenlandic people in line with well-established diplomatic, democratic principles and international law."
Europe correspondent Shona Murray told The Anton Savage Show that Trump’s anger followed the decision by several European countries - including Denmark, France, Germany and the UK, to deploy small numbers of troops to Greenland.
“These were surveillance missions, really,” Murray said, “a show of solidarity with Denmark and a signal that if there are future security concerns in the Arctic, NATO can deal with them together.”
She said Trump “took umbrage” at the move, viewing it as “a rejection of the United States taking Greenland” and responded with tariffs “out of the blue."
Murray also pointed out that Trump’s proposal is legally flawed.
“The European Union is a single market,” she said.
“You can’t apply tariffs to individual EU countries. Any tariff applies to all 27.”
The dispute has raised questions about NATO itself.
Picture by: NATO“It is unprecedented that a NATO ally would coerce or threaten another NATO ally,” Murray said, noting that Article 5, “an attack on one is an attack on all," is the backbone of the alliance.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that any attempt to take Greenland by force or coercion “would be the end of NATO”, a view echoed by several European leaders.
Murray also warned that Trump’s stance risks legitimising territorial annexation.
“What this does is legitimise what Vladimir Putin did in Ukraine,” she said, adding that it brings NATO “to the brink of collapse."
Ireland faces particular exposure due to its extensive trade ties with the US.
But McEntee’s stance was clear:
“There can be no lasting peace and security” if international law is ignored, regardless of the economic cost, adding that this is is a position "that will not change."
