People attend the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting, in Davos, Switzerland.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
European leaders take the stage on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) ahead of Donald Trump at the gathering of global elites in Davos, as the US president dangles tariff threats in a bid to pressure the EU over Greenland.
Mr. Trump is set to dominate the week at the Swiss ski resort, with a U.S. delegation already on the ground to promote an American agenda that has unsettled the global order cherished by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
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European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron will address the forum on Tuesday (January 20), along with Chinese vice premier He Lifeng and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose countries have their own disputes with Trump.
Mr. Trump will deliver a speech on Wednesday (January 21) and participate in other events on Thursday.
Europe is weighing countermeasures after Mr. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries over the Greenland standoff.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the U.S. contingent in Davos, warned that EU retaliation “would be very unwise”.
Ms. Von der Leyen met with a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation in Davos on Monday and said on social media that she had “addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark”.
While Mr. Macron will leave on Tuesday (January 20) without seeing Mr. Trump in Davos, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would seek to meet the U.S. president at the forum on Wednesday (January 21).
Mr. Merz said Germany and other European countries agreed “that we want to avoid any escalation in this dispute if at all possible”.
Leaders from the 27-nation bloc will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss their response to one of the gravest crises in years to hit transatlantic ties.
At a news conference in Davos, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said “tariff threats at the allied level are unacceptable. They weaken our transatlantic relationship and, in the worst case, can lead to a vicious cycle”.
When asked if the United States might use force, Mr. Stubb said: “I don’t believe that the United States will take control of Greenland militarily.”
Denmark has proposed that NATO start surveillance operations in Greenland to confront security concerns.
‘USA House’
Other prominent foreign leaders addressing the WEF on Tuesday (January 20) include Mr. Carney, who has sought to reduce his country’s reliance on the United States as Trump has raised tariffs on Canadian products.
As U.S. ties fray, Mr. Carney turned the page on years of diplomatic tensions with China during a visit to Beijing last week, securing a preliminary trade agreement to reduce tariffs.
Chinese vice premier He Lifeng, whose country has had long-running trade spats with Trump, will also address the WEF.
Other flashpoints on the WEF agenda include the crises in Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine and Iran.
The United States has sent an unusually large delegation to Davos, in a sign that it wants to make its presence felt at the gathering for global economic and political leaders.
Mr. Bessent and other U.S. officials will attend panels at the forum’s congress centre but also at the “USA House”, a venue inside an old church on the glitzy promenade of the mountain retreat.
Published – January 20, 2026 12:14 pm IST
