{"id":234617,"date":"2025-07-03T11:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T11:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/234617\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T11:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T11:50:12","slug":"denmark-launches-its-eu-presidency-facing-war-in-ukraine-and-trump-tariff-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/234617\/","title":{"rendered":"Denmark launches its EU presidency facing war in Ukraine and Trump tariff chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"

AARHUS, Denmark — Denmark launched its presidency of the European Union on Thursday with a call for Europe to unite to take on war in Ukraine<\/a> and chaos caused by U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s global tariff hike<\/a> which are likely to mark the Nordic country\u2019s six-month term at the helm of the world\u2019s biggest trading bloc.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have war on European soil. We face trade wars, and new tariffs, and we have our closest ally, in the United States, turning increasingly inward,\u201d said Danish European Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre. \u201cEurope can no longer be in the shadow of the United States. We need now to stand on our own two feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were in the western city of Aarhus for a day of celebratory events as Denmark started its eighth EU presidency since joining in 1973.<\/p>\n

Presidencies rotate between the 27 EU member countries every six months. The nation in charge sets policy priorities and organizes the bloc\u2019s working agenda. It’s supposed to act as an \u201chonest broker,\u201d setting aside national interests to foster consensus.<\/p>\n

Denmark is entering its term with the motto \u201cA Strong Europe in a Changing World.\u201d Its aim is to help ensure the EU can take responsibility for its own security, boost economic competitiveness and tackle climate change.<\/p>\n

The ceremony was held as large parts of Europe sweltered<\/a> in high temperatures.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine, now in its fourth year, is seen as an existential challenge in Europe and will weigh heavily on most policy debate. Economic turmoil also lies ahead. Trump\u2019s 90-day tariff pause ends on July 9 with no EU-U.S. trade deal in place as yet.<\/p>\n

NATO has warned that Russia could be ready to attack another European country in 3-5 years. To prepare, the military alliance \u2014 most of whose members are EU countries \u2014 has agreed that national military and defense-related investment should rise to 5% of GDP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Denmark\u2019s priority will be to set Europe on track to properly defend itself by 2030. That will require laying the groundwork for countries to buy the military equipment needed to execute NATO\u2019s defense plans with Trump’s security priorities<\/a> lying outside Europe.<\/p>\n

That will mean wrapping up negotiations on proposals that will help countries purchase and make military equipment together. <\/p>\n

Helping Ukraine, but also Moldova, to join the EU soon is another security priority. Moldova has been shaken by Russian meddling<\/a> in the form of energy coercion, election interference and disinformation campaigns.<\/p>\n

Denmark says it aims to keep the two moving toward membership together, but Hungary is blocking Ukraine’s path. Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n insists that Ukraine should remain a buffer zone<\/a> between Russia and NATO countries. <\/p>\n

With fresh elections in Moldova in September, pressure is mounting for the EU to \u201cdecouple\u201d their accession tracks. Bjerre said \u201call political and practical means\u201d will be used first to persuade Hungary \u2014 a small EU country and the only one standing in Ukraine’s way \u2014 to lift its veto.<\/p>\n

She said it\u2019s important to send clear signals to Balkans countries. Most have waited many years to join.<\/p>\n

As Trump wages tariff war, trade has changed drastically. The EU has sought new trade agreements with other countries, such as India<\/a>, while other trade pacts are being revamped. Denmark says it’s important to accelerate that process.<\/p>\n

The government in Copenhagen says it’s also seeking to cut more bureaucratic red tape in order to speed up innovation.<\/p>\n

A major challenge looms in the form of the EU\u2019s next long-term budget. Von der Leyen plans to unveil the commission’s blueprint for the seven-year spending package, which should enter force in 2028, on July 16.<\/p>\n

With defense spending increases weighing heavily on national purses, member countries are unlikely to want to stump up more funds for European priorities. Denmark\u2019s aim is to get the debate \u2014 which could run for two years \u2014 off on the right track.<\/p>\n

Despite some backsliding, the EU still holds to its goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, by cutting greenhouse gases and compensating for any remaining emissions. Denmark will lead work on setting a 2040 target to guide climate action and investment to keep the bloc on track.<\/p>\n

Part of that will be the transition away from fossil fuels to green energy forms. Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine has highlighted the dangers of energy dependence<\/a> on any one supplier.<\/p>\n

Sanctions and political pressure have not stopped some EU countries of getting their oil and gas from Russia, although the level of dependency has dropped markedly since 2022. Denmark says the continued phase out remains a priority.<\/p>\n

Copenhagen also says it should be easier for farmers to respect EU rules. It wants the bloc\u2019s agricultural policy to be simple and business friendly. One goal is to finalize negotiations on a rule simplification package.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Frederiksen spoke of a vision of \u201czero asylum-seekers,\u201d<\/a> and her government will continue down the EU track of seeking \u201cinnovative solutions\u201d to better manage migrants.<\/p>\n

Unable to agree how best to cope, EU countries have mostly focused on deporting people. They\u2019ve tried to establish \u201creturn hubs\u201d in countries outside the bloc<\/a> where rejected asylum-seekers<\/a> could be sent. That approach will continue. Denmark says it’s important to persuade people not to set out for Europe in the first place.<\/p>\n

Work will also continue on preparing the vast asylum and migration policy pact<\/a> to come into force next year. The pact was seen as the answer to Europe\u2019s migration woes, but countries still differ on how best to tackle the challenge.<\/p>\n

Under international law, people have a right to asylum if they fear for their lives, safety or persecution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AARHUS, Denmark — Denmark launched its presidency of the European Union on Thursday with a call for Europe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[91834,3907,5108,2000,299,4179,5212,8614,3058,38780,285,7661,657,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-234617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-91834","9":"tag-article","10":"tag-asylum","11":"tag-eu","12":"tag-europe","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-government-policy","15":"tag-international-agreements","16":"tag-international-trade","17":"tag-political-refugees","18":"tag-politics","19":"tag-russia-ukraine-war","20":"tag-ukraine","21":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114789156389195916","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}