Marcus Walker

He criticized the UK for giving away Chagos, even though Trump had previously approved that move.

And he threatened France with 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne unless Macron agrees to join Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza.

So the tensions and the mixed messages are continuing.

On the one hand, conversations are happening.

On the other hand, he continues to take a very dim view of European allies and maintain his demand about Greenland.

Yes, indeed.

So the Atlantic Alliance, NATO as the military core of that alliance, has always relied as much on trust and on a belief in common commitment as on its military infrastructure.

And that part of it is what is really coming under fire and into increasing doubt because Trump has long been a skeptic about NATO and has made no secret about that.

during the past year has not only stepped up the rhetoric against European allies in various ways, but in the clash over Greenland, he seems to be communicating that for the US, it's more important to control the Western Hemisphere, including owning Greenland, and that if NATO is a casualty of that, then so be it.

So the fear on the European side is that the commitment that's needed as the glue is simply no longer there.

Even if a compromise is found on the Greenland issue, things will never be the same.

A line has been crossed here because of

Trump's willingness really to consider all options, including force, against the US's own allies.

Indeed, this Greenland issue has brought together both of the areas where the Trump administration and the Europeans have been in conflict.

Security on the one hand and trade and tariffs on the other, with Trump threatening tariffs from the 1st of February and later escalating from June unless he is allowed to buy and own Greenland.

So we see these two fields of dispute coming together and calling the entire relationship into question.

Now, for Europe, this poses a very awkward question of whether there really is a partnership with the US anymore, and if there isn't, whether Europe can actually afford to decouple from the US in both the economic sphere, because the US is an extremely important export market for Europe, and in the sphere of military security, because Europe would have to invest and rearm much, much more than it's currently planning to do if there is no military alliance with the US.

So at the moment, Europe is at a point where the relationship

is really teetering on the brink.

But the prospect of a divorce looks horrendously expensive and costly to the Europeans.