Jordan Bardella, a prominent French politician and leader within the National Rally party, sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s recent threats to impose tariffs on European allies over Greenland, calling the measures “unacceptable” and warning that the European Union must respond.
“The threats issued by Donald Trump against the sovereignty of a state, all the more so a European one, are unacceptable,” Bardella said in a statement on Saturday. “Commercial blackmail is no more tolerable.”
Bardella urged the EU to take concrete action. “We call on the European Union to suspend the agreement concluded last July, which we had denounced at the time, that commits our interests without sufficient counter-parties,” he added. “Failing that, Brussels would once again demonstrate its impotence and the resigned acceptance of the vassalization of its member states.”
“The threats issued by Donald Trump against the sovereignty of a state, all the more so a European one, are unacceptable. Commercial blackmail is no more tolerable. We call on the European Union to suspend the agreement concluded last July, which we had denounced at the time, that commits our interests without sufficient counter-parties. Failing that, Brussels would once again demonstrate its impotence and the resigned acceptance of the vassalization of its member states.”
Trump’s announcement escalated tensions with Europe, threatening tariffs of 10% beginning Feb. 1, rising to 25% on June 1, against Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland unless Greenland is sold to the United States. In his statement, the president mocked Greenland’s defenses, claiming the island “currently has two dogsleds as protection, one added recently,” while framing the Arctic territory as essential to U.S. and global security.
The U.S. move comes amid heightened Arctic military activity. Denmark has coordinated joint training and deployments in Greenland with several NATO allies, including Germany, France, Sweden, and Norway, aimed at strengthening Arctic security and protecting critical infrastructure.
The Greenland controversy has sparked protests both in Denmark and in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. Thousands marched on Jan. 17, waving banners reading “Greenland is not for sale” and asserting the right of Greenlanders and Denmark to decide the island’s future.
Bardella’s comments reflect growing frustration among European political figures, who have increasingly portrayed Trump’s tariffs as a form of economic coercion undermining European sovereignty, unity, and transatlantic relations. Leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have all condemned the measures and called for a coordinated EU response.
