Donald Trump once again reminds us that his conception of international politics resembles a Risk board more than respect between sovereign states. His latest threat is no small matter: imposing tariffs on countries that do not support his plan for Greenland, citing "national security" reasons.
The phrase, uttered with the naturalness of someone who believes the world is an extension of their office, contains something much more serious than electoral bravado: the use of trade as an instrument of geopolitical blackmail. If you don't do what I want, I'll punish you economically.
Greenland is not an empty lot or an interchangeable piece. It has a population, institutions, and its own political status within the Kingdom of Denmark. It is, with due allowance for differences, an autonomous reality, just as the Canary Islands are within the Spanish State. That is why the question is logical: if today it is Greenland, tomorrow who is to say it cannot be any other territory considered strategic.
Europe watches with a dangerous mix of passivity and resignation. In Spain, parts of the right and far-right continue to defend the United States as if it were the moral guardian of the West, even when that supposed ally directly threatens its partners.
This episode makes one thing clear: the United States does not act as an ally, but as a power that imposes conditions. Trump is not an anomaly, but the most explicit version of a foreign policy based on self-interest.
The European Union needs real strategic autonomy. Diversifying trade and energy relations and ceasing to depend on a partner that turns every disagreement into an economic threat is a political necessityLooking towards China and Russia is not an ideological betrayal, it is a pragmatic decision. International politics is not about sympathies, it is about interestsFrom the Canary Islands, it is clearly perceived: when great powers begin to talk about strategic territories, the rights of those who live in them are usually the last on the list
Trump is playing global Monopoly with tariffs as his game pieces. Europe must decide whether to remain a spectator or start writing its own strategy. Because on this board, standing still is also losing.
