US-JAPAN: Takaichi Talks Up US Links Following Re-Election

The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said in a statement following a meeting with Danish and Greenlandic counterparts: “Arctic security is a shared transatlantic interest, and one we can discuss with our US allies. But tariff threats are not the way to go about this. Sovereignty is not for trade. We have no interest to pick a fight, but we will hold our ground. Europe has a slate of tools to protect its interests.”

• Kallas’ statement reflects a growing European consensus regarding President Trump’s tariff threat if a deal isn’t struck to authorise the sale of Greenland: To refrain from escalating with Washington, but reserve the use of retaliatory actions, including deployment of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument.
• Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen echoed the sentiment following a meeting with NATO SecGen Mark Rutte: “We wish to have a dialogue with the US… We have discussed a NATO mission in [Greenland/Arctic].”
• Bloomberg reported earlier that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he’s trying to persuade French President Emmanuel Macron to tone down his calls for the activation of the ACI.
• Meanwhile, Denmark appears to be bolstering its military presence in Greenland, likely in a bid to address one of Trump’s primary justifications for US sovereignty over the territory, complicate Trump’s efforts to annex the territory, and undermine Washington’s argument that Europe is leaving the island vulnerable to Russia/China.
• FT reports that the Danish defence forces said that a plane with a “substantial contribution” of soldiers and the head of the country’s army would land in Kangerlussuaq [Greenland]."

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This sees the Baltic bloc coalesce around Latvian CB Governor Kazaks - who was one of the European Parliament's preferred candidates for the role.

The removal of Muller and Sadzius doesn't come as a surprise in this respect - politically it is easier for the group of countries to rally around one candidate.

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• Confirmation of earlier reports following Lecornu's Council of Ministers meeting