Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) today refused to say unequivocally that the Czech government supports Greenland, amid growing tensions within NATO about the stated aim of the Trump administration to take control of the Danish territory.
Babis said only that the United States is the leader of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and that conflicts are counterproductive.
Due to recent events surrounding Greenland and in connection with threats made by US President Donald Trump, the European Council will meet on Thursday, with Babis representing the Czech Republic.
“We definitely prefer that an agreement be reached within the alliance. It would be very unfortunate if there were to be any conflicts,” Babis said. According to him, Trump’s arguments about China and Russia are relevant, but it is necessary to reach an agreement. “Any challenges or declarations are pointless,” he added.
On Saturday, Trump announced that he would increase import tariffs for eight European countries from 1 February, which would remain in place until the United States concluded an agreement to purchase Greenland from Denmark. The additional 10% tariffs will apply to all goods imported into the US from countries that have opposed Trump’s desire to acquire the Arctic island: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, and Finland.
In a joint statement on Sunday, these countries warned that the threat of tariffs by the United States would undermine transatlantic relations and could cause a dangerous spiral of escalation. Trump has threatened that if the agreement on Greenland is not concluded by 1 June, additional tariffs for the eight countries in question will increase from 10 to 25% from that date. A 15% tariff has already been in effect since the summer for most exports from the EU to the US.
According to Babis, Trump is a businessman. “We have seen a situation where he wanted to impose tariffs of up to 50%, then backed down, then made a deal with Canada and Mexico,” said the prime minister. “He is probably using the same tactic of putting forward a proposal, which he then uses as a starting point for negotiations,” he said. According to Babis, the Czech government is in favour of finding a way to negotiate with him and resolve the issue.
