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EU LEADERS HAVE arrived for an emergency summit in Brussels as they try to grapple with what comes next for Greenland.
The leaders of the bloc’s 27 member states – including Taoiseach Micheál Martin – will meet for a dinner tonight to discuss potential responses to any further confrontations with US President Donald Trump.
This includes the potential threat of further tariffs and the continuing war in Ukraine.
It comes as some confusion remains over the content of the framework deal Trump announced yesterday with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte in relation to Greenland.
Speaking on her way into the Summit, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Nato states have backed proposals to have a “permanent presence” in the Arctic, including around Greenland, as part of the deal.
Arriving at the emergency EU leaders summit in Brussels this evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed Trump’s tariff climb down but said it has been a “challenging few weeks” in relation to “the Greenland situation”. @thejournal.ie
— Jane Matthews (@janematthews1.bsky.social) January 22, 2026 at 7:38 PM
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However, Greenland’s Prime Minister said today that he was not aware of the contents of the deal.
“I don’t know what there is in the agreement or the deal about my country,” Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a press conference, noting that he had not been part of the discussions.
Trump has not given any further details of the deal, but a source close to the talks said that a 1951 Greenland defence pact would be renegotiated as part of it.
That 1951 defence pact allows the US to keep its three main military bases in Greenland and to establish new bases if deemed necessary by Nato.
The same agreement also essentially gives Washington carte blanche to ramp up its troop deployments, provided it informs the authorities in Denmark and Greenland in advance.
Speaking to reporters as he arrived at tonight’s emergency summit, Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the deal, and the fact tariffs have been dropped, and stressed the importance of de-escalation.
The Taoiseach also sought to focus attention on the war in Ukraine ahead of tonight’s meeting.
“We cannot lose focus on the situation,” Martin said, adding that it is “desperate”.
“Thousands of people have lost their lives. At the moment, because of the attacks on energy infrastructure, and through a very difficult winter, many people in Ukraine are freezing.
“There’s a desperate need to bring this to an end,” he said.
His comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was highly critical of EU leaders today, using his speech at Davos to, in part, criticise the bloc.
He said Europe looked “lost” over how to deal with the challenge presented by Trump.
“There are endless internal arguments and things left unsaid that stop Europe from uniting and speaking honestly enough to find real solutions,” Zelensky told the World Economic Forum.
He added:
“Instead of becoming a truly global power, Europe remains a beautiful but fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers.”
‘Serious repercussions’ for EU and US citizens
On the EU’s relationship with the US, the Taoiseach said it has been a “challenging” number of weeks but insisted that it’s a “critical relationship” that can be maintained.
“Both sides have to work extremely hard to maintain that relationship and breathe new life into it,” he said, pointing to the interdependence between the US and the EU on trade.
“Any undermining of that would have very serious repercussions for EU citizens and US citizens,” Martin said, referring to the potential harm that a trade war would have on member states as well as the US.
“There’s an obligation on all sides to work together to make the agreement work – otherwise the alternatives are not that palatable for citizens if you take it to its ultimate.”
With reporting from Eoghan Dalton
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