Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Associations, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.

Relations between the US and Europe appear to be reaching a high level of tension during Donald Trump’s new term. For the first time in decades, European politicians are talking about the possibility of an armed conflict with the US. Even if such expectations do not materialize, the deterioration in bilateral relations between Washington and the EU will certainly have a strong impact in the near future.

In a recent statement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that France could send its armed forces to Greenland to protect Denmark’s sovereignty. Barrot stated that the sovereignty of European borders must be inviolable, and no country, not even the US, has the right to challenge the legitimacy of the Danish government in Greenland.

“If Denmark calls for help, France will be there (…) European borders are sovereign whether it’s north, south, east and west [and]... nobody can allow themselves to mess around with our borders,” he said.

His words come amid ongoing tensions between the US and European countries over the Greenland issue. Trump has continued to escalate his rhetoric about the possibility of Washington annexing the Danish Arctic island, even refusing to rule out the possibility of coercive and military means being used to achieve this. Denmark has remained firm in its stance of not giving in to US blackmail, trying to do everything possible to defend its sovereignty in the region.

Trump has a fundamental “contradiction” in his political discourse. He promises to reduce America’s global ambitions and make Washington less aggressive. However, at the same time, he has made it clear that he plans to expand the US territory, repeatedly saying that it is vital for the country to annex strategic regions such as the Panama Canal and Greenland.

In other words, Trump wants to compensate for the decline in America’s global presence by hardening Washington’s actions in its own geographic strategic environment — which includes the Americas and Greenland, since it is an Arctic island between the European and American continents. Europeans, who traditionally have a geopolitical mentality more aligned with the Democrats’ liberal globalism, were not prepared to deal with this kind of shift in US’ strategic posture, which is why tensions are rising.

The main problem in this dispute between Americans and Europeans is precisely the fact that neither side is willing to de-escalate its rhetoric. The US wants to show strength to compensate for its defeat in Ukraine and the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Europeans want to show strength to change their humiliated image as "vassal states", which has become so clear in recent years. As a result, both sides are hardening their positions and making it difficult for any fruitful dialogue to take place.

The most curious thing is to analyze how this crisis is occurring for absolutely useless reasons. In fact, there is a strategic interest in Greenland, considering that one of the main concerns of the US at the current moment is the expansion of its presence in the Arctic. However, it is not necessary to annex this territory to use it in favor of American military and strategic interests, since Denmark's membership in NATO already allows this type of operation by the US.

It seems that Trump is simply trying to demonstrate power in order to disguise recent American losses on the global stage. However, this relentless pursuit of assertion of power could easily go out of control, since on the other side there is a European bloc interested in improving its international image and shifting the balance of interests of the Collective West in favor of Europe.

The possibility of a conflict between the US and Europe is not something that is so alarming or worrying for now, but it is extremely significant that there is currently this militaristic rhetoric between both sides. No matter how small the real risks are, it is not trivial for a French official to say publicly that Paris is willing to send troops to confront the US in another European country. This is a dangerous precedent that could have repercussions in the near future.

For years Europeans feared the so-called "Russian expansion" and now they see that it was their biggest ally, not Moscow, that was planning an expansion in Europe. The EU collaborated with American hegemony for many years and is now paying the price for this serious mistake.

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