What you need to know
• NOW: US President Donald Trump is addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
• Greenland showdown: European officials are planning to use the forum to stage a diplomatic intervention to cool tensions over Greenland that have put the continent on edge and may now threaten the survival of NATO, three sources told CNN.
• Bessent’s appeal to Europe’s leaders: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said European countries pushing back on the US attempts to acquire Greenland should “sit down and wait” for Trump and “listen to his argument” at the forum.
Trump opens Davos speech acknowledging his friends — and his enemies
President Donald Trump opened his remarks with a nod to the packed room of moguls and world leaders.
“It’s great to be back in beautiful Davos, Switzerland, and to address so many respected business leaders, so many friends — few enemies,” he said, to polite laughter.
The president is delivering a rundown of his first-year accomplishments, saying he had arrived to the Swiss Alps bearing “truly phenomenal news from America.”
NOW: Trump begins speech at World Economic Forum
US President Donald Trump has just began his speech at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
We’ll bring you updates from the address as we get them.
CEOs are worried about Trump's Greenland threats. CNN's Richard Quest explains
The new tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump over Greenland are creating damaging uncertainty for companies on both sides of the Atlantic, CNN’s international business correspondent Richard Quest says.
CEOs in Europe and the US are waking up to the reality that it’s time to “speak or suffer the consequences,” according to Quest.
Even if those who say Trump intends to compromise much further down the line are right, “the truth is, Europe has now seen trust evaporated, and that won’t come back fast,” Quest added.
Trump has arrived in Davos ahead of speech
US President Donald Trump has arrived in Davos, Switzerland.
Per CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, he is expected to go straight to his scheduled speech at the World Economic Forum.
Danish prime minister to visit Britain for talks, as Starmer says UK won't "yield" on Greenland
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will visit the UK on Thursday for talks, her British counterpart Keir Starmer has said, as he underlined that Britain would not “yield” Greenland.
“I will not yield,” Starmer told parliament during its weekly Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday. “Britain will not yield on our principles and values about the future of Greenland under threats of tariffs.”
He claimed that US President Donald Trump criticized the UK’s Chagos Islands deal Tuesday with “the express purpose” of pressurizing Starmer over Greenland.
“(Trump) wants me to yield on my position,” he repeated. “I’m not going to do so.”
“I have made my position clear… The first of those is that the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and kingdom of Denmark alone. The second of those is that threats of tariffs to pressurize allies are completely wrong,” he said. “We will continue to engage constructively.”
German chancellor no longer meeting with Trump in Davos Wednesday, citing Trump’s delayed arrival
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and US President Donald Trump will no longer hold a one-on-one meeting in Davos today, the German chancellery confirmed to CNN, citing Trump’s delayed arrival in Switzerland.
A bilateral meeting with Merz is now “unlikely to take place,” German government sources said.
En route to Davos, Trump had to return to the US and switch planes overnight due to a “minor electrical issue,” according to a White House official.
Without Trump, Europe would not have taken "crucial" defense steps, NATO chief says
NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte came to US President Donald Trump’s defense when speaking at a World Economic Forum event today, commending him for pushing Europe into making “crucial” steps regarding its defense spending.
Speaking at a panel titled “Can Europe Defend Itself?” alongside a number of European leaders, Rutte asked the audience if it “really think(s) that, without Donald Trump,” several European countries would have increased their defense spending to 2% of their GDPs.
“No way. Without Donald Trump, this would never have happened,” he said.
The US still has tens of thousands of troops in Europe, Rutte said, which proves that it is “still heavily invested in European defense.” As Washington also looks to put more troops in Asia, it is “only logical for them to expect us in Europe to step up over time,” he added.
Europe will work toward taking over more defense capabilities in the continent, while a “strong, conventional” US presence also remains there, according to the NATO chief.
“But again, I’m absolutely convinced without Donald Trump, we would not have taken those decisions, and they are crucial, particularly for the European and the Canadian side of NATO to really grow up in the post Cold War world,” Rutte said.
Trump’s Greenland ambitions are “dumb as hell” and “a little weird,” governors tell CNN
US governors speaking on a panel hosted by CNN’s Richard Quest criticized President Donald Trump’s attempts to acquire Greenland, calling the idea “dumb as hell” and “a little weird.”
“I’m incredibly concerned. Over the course of just one year, this president has taken America from being (the) leader of the free world to the bully on the playground,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said at the World Economic Forum panel on Wednesday.
“This Greenland play by the president is dumb as hell,” Beshear added. “This policy… is so damaging, so concerning – and this is not who we are.”
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said Trump had pushed Europe to “focus on their defense more,” but described the Greenland proposal as “a little weird.”
“I’ll admit (it), because we can already put military bases on Greenland,” Stitt said.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer also voiced concern, warning the fallout from the proposal would take “a long time to recover from.”
“We’re one year into a four-year term and the amount of damage that’s been done is going to have a long, long tail — for us competitively, for our stature in the world, for trust amongst allies,” she said.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, CNN briefly spoke to Whitmer, who said she had “a lot of thoughts” on Greenland, before adding: “What the hell?”
CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg and Adam Cancryn contributed to this report.
Treasury secretary says Denmark and its investment in the US are “irrelevant”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today that Denmark “is irrelevant,” while diminishing the country’s investment in the US.
“Denmark’s investment in US treasury bonds like Denmark itself is irrelevant,” Bessent told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, when asked how concerned he is about “institutional investors in Europe maybe pulling out of Treasury, such as from pension fund and Denmark and elsewhere.”
“It is less than $100 million. They’ve been selling treasuries, they have for years,” Bessent continued, adding, “I’m not concerned at all.”
Bessent was referring to AkademikerPension, the Danish pension operator, which said this week it was dumping its $100 million worth of US Treasury holdings because of “poor government finances.”
The $100 million makes up a small portion of the $30.8 trillion US Treasury market but Denmark itself holds just under $10 billion worth of US bonds. The European Union collectively owns $8 trillion of America’s Treasuries, making it the largest financer of US debt.
Trump lands in Switzerland after Air Force One flight mishap
President Donald Trump landed in Switzerland just before 1:00 p.m. local time (7:00 a.m. ET), more than two hours after he was originally set to arrive in the country.
The president’s travel plans hit a snag when his original flight had to return to Joint Base Andrews, with the president switching aircrafts due to electrical problems.
The president is next expected to take Marine One to Davos where the World Economic Forum is being held. He is set to deliver remarks to attendees at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET).
How might European leaders greet Trump in Davos after a week of diplomatic chaos?
When US President Donald Trump arrives in Davos on Wednesday, it will give European leaders an opportunity to talk with him in person after he has spent the last two weeks creating diplomatic chaos in the transatlantic alliance over Greenland.
So, what sort of reception is Trump likely to get from his European interlocutors?
Well, lots of Europe’s top leaders aren’t expected to be in Davos today and the ones who are there normally seek to placate Trump, though they have all opposed his push to take over Greenland.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has adopted a more conciliatory tone than his counterparts like French President Emmanuel Macron, is there. Finnish President Alexander Stubb is there too. He messaged Trump, along with his Norwegian counterpart, to express their “opposition to his announced tariff increases against Norway, Finland and select other countries.”
And NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who has developed somewhat of a reputation for going out of his way to flatter Trump, is in Davos. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose ideological leanings make her a natural European ally for Trump, is reportedly meeting with the US president too, though her official schedule states she is in Rome on Wednesday.
CNN’s Barbie Latza Nadeau, Sebastian Shukla and Charlotte Reck contributed reporting.
Roughly 35 nations expected to attend Trump's Board of Peace ceremony
President Donald Trump’s signing ceremony for his newly established Board of Peace will be attended by roughly 35 of the 50 nations that were invited to the Thursday event in Davos, a senior administration official said.
The board was originally meant to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, but the president has since suggested it “might” replace the United Nations.
The board has proven controversial even before it’s gotten up and running, fueled in part by Trump’s demand that members pay $1 billion for a permanent seat. The administration also invited traditional adversaries like China and Russia to join, raising questions about how a nation currently at war with a US ally could be involved in a peacemaking effort.
Some countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have already confirmed their plans to participate. But several others have yet to commit, while some allies like France have ruled out joining the board.
Zelensky staying in Kyiv as US-Europe crisis delays agreement over post-war Ukraine
One name is missing at Davos, at least for the moment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that unless a much-heralded Prosperity Plan – valued at an eye-popping $800 billion – is agreed between the US, Europe and Ukraine, he would prefer to stay home and deal with his country’s acute power shortages.
In Kyiv alone, more than 1 million people are without electricity after the latest Russian airstrikes, Zelensky reported in his nightly address on Tuesday.
“Air defense missiles are needed daily. Weapons are needed daily. Equipment for recovery and reserves is needed daily. If the Davos format delivers this – real results for Ukraine – Ukraine will be represented there. No one needs empty politics or talks with no results,” Zelensky said.
The Prosperity Plan, which details the investment and reconstruction Ukraine will need once the war with Russia is over, has fallen victim to the crisis in US-Europe relations over US President Donald Trump’s demand for Greenland, the Financial Times reports. Efforts to finalizse post-war security guarantees for Ukraine in time for the Davos meeting also appear to have come up short.
Even though the Ukrainian leader made clear he would travel to Switzerland at short notice if agreements were reached, staying away avoids a potential clash over the US president’s “Board of Peace” initiative.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zelensky said it was hard to imagine joining such a body at present if the leaders of Russia and Belarus were also members.
“Russia is about a body of war,” he said.
Any agreements eventually reached between the US and Europe on post-war arrangements for Ukraine would still need Russian acceptance before they could come into effect.
Victoria Butenko in Kyiv contributed to this report
Lutnick downplays concerns over Greenland, saying Trump and Europe will "work it out"
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick downplayed concerns over President Donald Trump’s push to own Greenland, saying today that he expects the US to work out an agreement with European leaders on the issue.
Lutnick’s remarks came after he wrote in a Financial Times op-ed published Wednesday morning that “we’re not going to Davos to uphold the status quo. We’re going to confront it head-on.”
He also dismissed criticism over Trump’s effort to acquire Greenland, arguing it wouldn’t amount to a takeover of another sovereign country.
“I don’t remember Greenland being another country. We’re not taking over Denmark,” he told Fox Business. “It’s just, Greenland is in our hemisphere. It’s far, far away from Denmark.”
What are Europe's options for responding to Trump?
The options Europe has publicly outlined for responding to Trump’s tariff threats and calls for the US to annex Greenland focus on diplomatic and economic levers. Choosing between them depends on the continent’s willingness to face off against its powerful NATO ally.
Trade bazooka
The European Union has not ruled out using its nuclear option – the so-called “trade bazooka.” This is Europe’s biggest trade weapon, a measure that was adopted in 2023 with countries like China in mind, not allies like the US.
It is an anti-coercion tool and can be triggered if a country tries to coerce the EU or one of its member states by using “measures affecting trade or investment.”
If the EU uses it, it could block some of America’s access to EU markets or impose export controls but, given its bureaucratic nature, could take months to implement.
It’s a measure of absolute last resort and has never been used before.
Ripping up a trade deal
Powerful blocs in the European Parliament have now indicated their unwillingness to approve the US-EU trade deal that was agreed last year.
And the EU is also considering imposing €93 billion ($108 billion) of previously announced retaliatory tariffs against the United States that were delayed by that trade deal, according to Reuters.
Diplomacy
Europe and NATO have been seeking to engage with Trump, with some leaders messaging him directly. Trump leaked some of those texts earlier this week, offering a rare insight into exactly how this process works.
NATO chief Mark Rutte sought to flatter Trump, opening his message with “Mr. President dear Donald – what you accomplished in Syria today is incredible,” before adding, “I am committed to finding a way forward on Greenland.”
French President Emmanuel Macron struck a similar tone and listed options for multilateral and bilateral meetings when Trump visits Europe for Davos on Wednesday. It is unclear whether those meetings were arranged.
The flurry of diplomacy has appeared to influence Trump a little, even if it hasn’t convinced him to abandon his push for Greenland. According to a senior British official, Trump conceded in a phone call with Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he may have been given “bad information” on the European deployment of troops to Greenland.
CNN’s Lex Harvey, Martin Goillandeau and Auzinea Bacon contributed reporting.
"Putin hopes Greenland is the iceberg that sinks NATO," says former Danish PM
As the transatlantic relationship fractures and President Trump prioritizes a US acquisition of Greenland, the only “winners” can be China and Russia, according to a former NATO Secretary General.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who also served as the prime minister of Denmark between 2001 and 2009, told CNN’s Rahel Solomon that Europe must unite in pursuit of independence from its partnership with the US as Trump is “eroding the transatlantic relationship” and “creating a lack of trust.”
Rasmussen expressed regret over the damage already done to the alliance, “I have admired the United States as a politician … as prime minister and secretary general of NATO,” Rasmussen said, adding that he has worked alongside US presidents for much of his career.
“I have always considered the US a natural leader of the free world. So, for me, it’s a very painful process,” the diplomat said of Europe’s apparent decision to move away from its reliance on the US, adding that many of his European allies share this sentiment.
The one-time NATO secretary general stated concern for the organization. “If the United States initiates military action against Greenland, it would be the end of NATO,” he asserted, “We would have to build our own European NATO … to protect Europe.”
The statesman reiterated his criticism of Trump’s move to acquire Greenland, and suggested that Trump’s choice benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin, “The only winners of this transatlantic split … are Putin and Xi Jinping. I think Putin hopes that Greenland can be the iceberg that sinks NATO.”
Europe must focus on US relationships that go beyond Trump, according to a global affairs expert
Europe should manage its relationship with the United States to protect the partnership beyond the presidential term of Donald Trump, rather than seeking independence from the nation, according to the CEO of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Speaking with CNN’s Rosemary Church on Wednesday, the organization’s president Leslie Vinjamuri said that while she believes Trump is “very serious” about his position on Greenland, the next step for Europe is “managing and delaying and kicking this issue down the road” for as long as possible.
European leaders have scrambled to exercise damage control as Trump’s threats of military action in Greenland, and tariffs on NATO nations who oppose him, have intensified. But Vinjamuri said this has been a challenge for Europe.
She added, “There’s been real movement in Europe, but unfortunately, during this president’s term, the likelihood that Europeans will develop the capabilities that they need … to be fully independent in a meaningful way from the United States is quite low.”
Vinjamuri said Europe should concentrate on nurturing its relationship with powerful figures throughout the country who she said are both in and out of government, “Those are the relationships that Europeans … should be focusing on, because this relationship will continue long past Donald Trump.”
"Sit down and wait" for Trump to get to Davos, US treasury secretary tells Europe
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said European countries pushing back on the US attempts to acquire Greenland should “sit down and wait” for President Donald Trump to arrive at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and “listen to his argument.”
“Why don’t they sit down, wait for President Trump to get here and listen to his argument? Because I think they’re going to be persuaded.”
On Sunday, Bessent appeared to confirm perceptions that the administration thinks the US is so strong it can take what it wants.
CNN’s Stephen Collinson and Lex Harvey contributed to this report.
European leaders underline intention to defend themselves against Trump's threats over Greenland
Europe’s top officials have underlined their intention to defend themselves against coercion, highlighting US-European cooperation on Arctic security as President Donald Trump’s calls to annex Greenland threaten the foundations of their transatlantic alliance.
But Costa also spoke about a “shared transatlantic desire for peace and security in the Arctic,” adding that the best avenue for that was through NATO.
In her address to the European Parliament, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe had to accelerate its push for independence as the world changes around it.
“We now live in a world defined by raw power,” she said today, calling on Europe to adapt to that. “In this increasingly lawless world, Europe needs its own levers of power.”
She reiterated Europe’s position that Greenland’s future is “only for the Greenlanders to decide,” and outlined examples of US-European cooperation on Arctic security.
Is China the great stabilizer at the World Economic Forum?
As President Donald Trump threatens to take over Greenland and slap Europe with new tariffs, China is seizing the moment at Davos, casting itself as the world’s stable trade superpower. CNN’s Mike Valerio reports from Beijing on why more Western leaders are paying attention to China’s offers.
As President Trump threatens to take over Greenland and slap Europe with new tariffs, China is seizing the moment at Davos - casting itself as the world’s stable trade superpower. CNN’s Mike Valerio reports from Beijing on why more Western leaders are paying attention to China's offers.
