Ireland remains cautious about deploying the so-called "big bazooka" economic mechanism against the US, despite Europe moving closer to using the trade weapon in response to threats to take Greenland. Amid reports that Germany is moving towards supporting France in its call for EU member states to ask the European Commission to unleash the Anti-Coercion Instrument, Ireland has remained coy on its position and is instead calling for dialogue to avert an all-out trade war.
Delivering her state of the union address in Brussels last week, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, painted a grim but accurate picture of the challenges faced by Europe as the first quarter of the 21st century draws to a close. A world of imperial ambitions and imperial wars, she noted, is a world in which dependencies are ruthlessly weaponised.
President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to launch a new trade investigation aimed at the European Union, following a series of multi-billion-dollar fines levied against U.S. tech firms, including a recent nearly $3.5 billion penalty against Google. In a post on Truth Social, the president claimed that the European fines are "discriminatory" and "effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs." He singled out the EU's latest antitrust ruling against Google over its advertising technology business, as well as past penalties against Apple.
