The European Round Table for Industry, representing some of Europe's largest corporations, issued an unprecedented call on Sunday for the European Union to take defensive action against the United States if diplomatic efforts fail to resolve the escalating Greenland crisis.
In a statement published Sunday, the ERT—whose members include corporate giants such as Siemens, Unilever, and Airbus—warned that recent American threats to undermine last summer's EU-US trade agreement negotiated at Turnberry represented a fundamental challenge to the transatlantic economic order.
"ERT fully supports Europe's unified stance and steadfastness in solidarity with the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark," the organization declared. The statement called on both sides to "initiate dialogue and reduce tensions urgently," but added a significant caveat: "Failing this, ERT would support necessary steps to defend the fundamental interests of Europe and EU Member States."
The language marks a striking departure from the business community's traditional reluctance to wade into geopolitical disputes. To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. For decades, European corporate leaders have served as a moderating force in transatlantic tensions, prioritizing commercial stability over political confrontation. Their willingness to endorse retaliatory measures signals how profoundly Donald Trump's threats against Greenland have shaken confidence in the US-European partnership.
The statement followed Trump's Saturday announcement of potential tariffs on eight European and allied nations whose military personnel are currently stationed in Greenland. The American president characterized these deployments as occurring "for reasons unknown," interpreting them as a provocation despite European insistence that the troops are present to address US security concerns in the Arctic.
ERT emphasized that "respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity is fundamental to international law," a pointed reference to Trump's refusal to rule out using military force to seize the Danish territory.
The business group's intervention carries substantial weight. ERT members employ millions of workers across Europe and generate combined annual revenues exceeding €2 trillion. Their public support for defensive measures against Washington provides political cover for European governments considering economic countermeasures—and suggests that the continent's corporate establishment views the current American administration as a threat to the rules-based international order that has underpinned transatlantic commerce for seven decades.
European stock markets fell sharply on Monday morning, according to Reuters, with the STOXX 600 index recording its steepest decline in two months as investors priced in the possibility of a full-scale trade war between the world's two largest economic blocs.
Whether ERT's call for unity translates into coordinated European action remains to be seen. But the statement represents a watershed moment: when the guardians of European capitalism advocate confrontation with Washington, the transatlantic relationship has entered uncharted and dangerous territory.
