Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The day so far has been dominated by reaction to Donald Trump's threat over the weekend to impose further tariffs on a swathe of European countries that are opposing his plan to take over Greenland.

Here's what's been happening:

• Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he received a text message from Donald Trump on Sunday, saying he no longer feels "an obligation to think purely of Peace" after Norway "decided not to give him" the Nobel Peace Prize
• The Norwegian leader said he has explained to Trump the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government
• In response to Trump's latest threat on Greenland, urgent meetings are being called across Europe - Denmark and Greenland's ministers are talking to the Nato secretary general, while French President Emmanuel Macron is holding a defence council meeting at the Élysée
• In the UK, there's been a range of reaction from politicians to Keir Starmer's Greenland speech earlier, where he said Trump's plan to impose tariffs is "completely wrong", but played down the idea of retaliatory tariffs
• And renewed talk of tariffs has sent stock markets falling across Europe

Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest.

US has long been allowed to build bases and deploy more forces to Greenlandpublished at 14:31 GMT 19 January

14:31 GMT 19 January

Joe Inwood
World news correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

There already are US flags flying in Greenland.

Indeed, under a 1951 agreement between the US and Denmark, it is mandated that Stars and Stripes are present in military bases.

The "Defence of Greenland Agreement" gives Washington extensive access to the island, including the right to build bases and facilities, deploy more forces and generally operate as they see fit.

There are very few restrictions on what the US military can do, so long as they do not impinge on the national interest of Denmark or the local population.

US personnel are even exempt from local taxation, as is all imported equipment.

In short, the argument that the US would not be able to build bases or deploy forces necessary for the defence of Greenland, or the rest of the continent, is not backed up by the document signed by both governments.

The 1951 treaty concludes by saying that the agreement shall remain in force for as long as the Nato alliance survives.

It is this final point which is looking the least certain.

Donald Trump already made eyes at Greenland back in 2019, during his first stint as US president. But tensions have ramped up considerably since the start of this year.

Here are the key events from this month:

3 January 2026: Katie Miller - the wife of one of Trump's senior aides, Stephen Miller - posts on social media a map of Greenland in the colours of the American flag alongside the word "SOON".

6-7 January 2026: The White House confirms Trump has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including use of the military, after European leaders issue a joint statement rallying behind Denmark.

14 January 2026: Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers meet with Trump's team in the White House, but say a "fundamental disagreement" remains after the "frank" discussion.

15 January 2026: Troops and vessels from European Nato allies arrive in Greenland - including Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK.

17 January 2026: Trump announces new taxes on eight US allies - Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK - to come into force from February, if they continue to oppose his proposed takeover of Greenland.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump’s desire to annex Greenland has been met with a stern rebuke from many Greenlanders, especially within the island’s Inuit community.

BBC Europe editor Katya Adler has been speaking to Inuit women in the capital, Nuuk, about the territory’s history of colonisation and the trauma it has caused.

In the 1960s and 1970s, thousands of Inuit women - including girls as young as 12 - were fitted with contraceptive devices as part of a birth-control programme run by Danish doctors.

Last year, the Danish government issued a formal apology for the programme.

Now, on Trump’s latest proposal on Greenland, tattoo artist Ikimaliq Pikilak says: "I think it’s an unfair position to put our people in."

"We get this choice whether we want to be Danish or American. We are asked to choose between two oppressors. From their perspective, there is simply no option for us to just be our own people."

Listen to Katya’s dispatch on this week’s edition of From Our Own Correspondent on BBC Sounds.

Image source, REX

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt are meeting today with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels.

The agenda includes "Nato co-operation on security, defence and deterrence" in the Arctic, according to a statement from the Danish Ministry of Defence.

Meanwhile in France, President Emmanuel Macron is holding an urgent defence council meeting today on Greenland, Syria and Iran, his office tells the BBC.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Travelling with President Trump

Image source, Getty Images

I'm currently in West Palm Beach, Florida, where I'm among the White House reporters travelling with President Trump during the extended US holiday weekend.

While we've heard from Trump on Greenland on Truth Social - including an overnight post saying "it is time" for the US to take the island - we haven't heard from him in person since Friday afternoon when we arrived.

The closest glimpse we got was yesterday afternoon, when the president made a brief visit to a local furniture shop after spending his day at the golf course.

We saw him looking at various items through the windows, but the press wasn't in a position to ask any questions.

It's unclear when we might hear from him today. He's got nothing on his public schedule until this evening, when he'll make an appearance at the national college football championship game in Miami.

We're unlikely to hear from him on policy matters during this appearance.

We may, however, hear from him on the flight back to Washington DC at night.

Stay with us for more updates.

Image source, Reuters

Greenland's premier says the country will not be pressured, after Trump's tariff threats over his bid to gain control of the territory.

In a post on Facebook, Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomes the support of other nations, calling it "a clear recognition that Greenland is a democratic society with the right to make its own decisions".

He adds: "The latest statements from the US, including threats of tariffs, do not change that line. We will not let ourselves be pressured. We stand firm on dialogue, on respect and on international law."

Nielsen attended a protest against the US president's demand that the Arctic island be ceded to the US, calling for it to be allowed to determine its own future, in front of the US consulate in the capital of Greenland Nuuk at the weekend.

The BBC is due to speak to Lord Peter Mandelson, who was the British ambassador in Washington until September last year.

Lord Mandelson, who was sacked after revelations about his friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, will speak to BBC Radio 4's The World at One shortly about Trump’s ambitions to take over Greenland. The show will also have political analysis and reaction.

You can watch and listen live on the stream at the top of this page.

Starmer branded US tariffs on its allies "completely wrong" in his speech on the US-Greenland situation earlier, adding that the island's future must be decided by "the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone".

Chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman has analysed the prime minister's words:

Nick Edser
Business reporter

As we reported earlier, the gold price has hit a record high this morning but share prices have fallen as investors react to Donald Trump’s threat to impose fresh tariffs

But the increase in trade tensions has hit stock markets across Europe. The UK’s FTSE 100 index has fallen 0.6%, Germany’s Dax index is down 1.5% while France’s Cac 40 is 1.6% lower.

Carmakers and luxury goods firms - two sectors that stand to lose out from new US tariffs - saw some of the biggest falls.

In Germany, shares in car companies BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW were all down by about 3-4%, while in France luxury brands LVMH and Hermes were among the biggest losers.

However, European defence stocks rose, with Germany's Rheinmetall and France's Thales both trading higher.

Markets in the US are closed on Monday for a public holiday.

If Europe does nothing, it risks looking weak - if it goes too far, it risks a trade warpublished at 12:31 GMT 19 January

12:31 GMT 19 January

Nick Beake
Europe correspondent, reporting from Brussels

For the past year, European leaders have been trying to manage, placate, and charm Donald Trump but something has now changed.

Some EU leaders are now openly accusing the US president of “blackmail” with his latest tariff threats over Greenland.

The dilemma Europe faces is that if it doesn’t do anything in response it risks looking weak and may well embolden the president in his desire to get Greenland.

If it goes too far, it risks a trade war with the US, its biggest trading partner.

President Macron of France wants the EU to fight back by deploying for the first time the EU’s so-called “trade bazooka” - a weapon originally designed to combat bullying by a hostile external country. They were thinking about China, not the US.

Here, the bazooka could mean counter-tariffs on the US, barring US products from the EU single market and banning American companies for bidding for lucrative contracts in the EU.

But Giorgia Meloni of Italy is among those leaders who fear this would cause considerable mutual damage and she argues a diplomatic solution must be found to clear up what she has tried to characterise as a “misunderstanding” over the US and EU’s respective positions on Greenland.

Whether or not there was any genuine confusion, the fundamental problem is that these positions are poles apart and completely incompatible with each other.

Image source, PA Media

Politicians from across the political spectrum are reacting to Keir Starmer's speech at Downing Street, and the UK government's response to Trump's tariff threats over Greenland.

• Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt says "I don't agree with Keir Starmer on many things but I do support the level-headed approach he's taking on Greenland". He adds that "if the sovereignty of a Nato ally is not a red line what is?"
• "Weak, weak, weak. This appeasement must end," says Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey. "Starmer should be uniting with our allies against Trump's threats, not splitting off to suck up to him," he says
• "We're way past the point of giving pleading appeasement speeches", says Leader of the Green Party Zack Polanski. He criticises Starmer's signing of a defence deal with Palantir - a US technology company - "knowing full well how unpredictable and dangerous the US President is"

• Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage says he plans to tell US government officials this week that "this is not how you treat your best friends". Economic threats are "very, very hurtful to us", he adds.

• Diane Abbott, who currently sits as an independent MP, says Starmer's "pleading for special treatment from a political mobster is not working", adding "Trump just sees weakness"

Do you have any questions you want answered on the Greenland US situation? Send them our way we'll select a few to put to our team of experts and correspondents at 15:30 GMT.

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Trump linking peace prize snub to tumult of recent days is remarkablepublished at 12:03 GMT 19 January

12:03 GMT 19 January

Joe Inwood
World news correspondent

There it is, in black and white, at the very top of an extraordinary message to the Norwegian prime minister.

It had long been discussed the extent to which Donald Trump, ever aware of how he is perceived, covets the Nobel Peace Prize. Even so, for him to link it so directly to the diplomatic tumult of recent days is quite remarkable.

Last year's award, which is decided by an independent panel, was given to Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado. That was followed by her being sidelined by Trump in discussions about the future of the country, before she promptly arrived at the White House to present him with her medal.

Trump has also previously criticised the award given to one of his predecessors. “He got elected and they gave it to (Barack) Obama for doing absolutely nothing but destroying our country.”

Trump's message goes on to discuss the implications of the perceived snub - suggesting that Trump will now begin to act more directly in the US national interest.

This morning, the Norwegian PM released a statement saying: "I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known - the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee".

One of the things that has been notable since he returned to the White House is the extent to which international leaders, especially in Europe, have gone out of their way to lavish praise on Donald Trump’s attempts at international peace making.

Even that, it seems, has not been enough.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has provided additional context to the message he received from Trump, that we reported on earlier.

In that message, Trump says he no longer feels "an obligation to think purely of Peace" after Norway "decided not to give" him the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a statement, Støre says Trump's text was sent on Sunday afternoon in response to himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb putting forward their opposition to tariff increases.

Støre says it was Trump's decision to then share this message with other Nato leaders.

"Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter," the Norwegian PM writes in today's statement.

He concludes: "As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to president Trump... the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian government."

James FitzGerald
North America reporter

Earlier, we mentioned that Trump had reportedly drawn a link between his threats towards Greenland and the fact he had not been given the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

The BBC's US partner CBS News has now confirmed the contents of the letter in which he draws the link, which was sent to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.

The letter reportedly says: "Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America."

The Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded by Norway itself, but instead by a committee, whose members are appointed by the Norwegian parliament. The 2025 award was given to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

In the letter to Store, Trump also claims: "The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland."

Nabiha Ahmed
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

This morning has not been short of reaction to Donald Trump's threat to impose a 10% tariff on eight European countries by 1 February - rising to 25% by 1 June - over opposition to his proposed Greenland takeover.

Here's what we've heard this morning:

In the UK...

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer describes Trump's tariff threats on Europe as "very serious" and "completely wrong" - you can read the key takeaways from his speech here
• That said, Starmer has reiterated the need for a "good relationship" with the US - despite calls from Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey for the King to cancel his US state visit and "stand up to Trump"
• Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick, whilst highlighting "serious concerns" about security in the Arctic, is urging the PM to oppose Trump's "bully boy tactics"
• Our political correspondent Chris Mason questions if Starmer's hopes for "calm discussion" can make a difference

Around the world...

• Trump says Denmark has "been unable to do anything" about the "Russian threat" to Greenland for 20 years - and that "now is the time" for it to be addressed
• Meanwhile, UN Chief António Guterres says the US believes in its power more than international law
• China urges the US to stop using "the so-called 'China threat'" to justify acquiring Greenland
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Trump would make "not only United States history, but world history" if he annexed Greenland
• Meanwhile, Trump has written to the Norwegian prime minister, saying not being given the Nobel Peace Prize means he no longer has "an obligation to think purely of peace"

This afternoon, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to meet her Danish counterpart, and we're yet to hear from Trump himself today. As always, we'll bring you the latest updates and reaction.

Threats of tariffs by the US on several European countries are an "inappropriate escalation" that is harmful to all sides, according to Peter Leibinger, head of German industry association BDI.

He says it puts transatlantic relations under "enormous and completely unnecessary" pressure that has never before been seen.

"It is necessary and right for the German government, together with its European partners, to make it clear that it will not accept this threat," he adds. "It is important that Europe now acts in a united and self-assured manner."

How damaging could it be if Trump follows through on tariff threat?published at 10:51 GMT 19 January

10:51 GMT 19 January

Dharshini David
Deputy economics editor

As the individual countries go, the US is the UK's biggest overseas customer. So, how damaging could it be if President Trump follows through on his threat of new tariffs?

Only a third of the exports sold by the UK to the US are goods, the rest, services, actually don't attract tariffs. Exports of both the biggest types of goods exported to the US - pharmaceuticals and cars - have dwindled slightly since last year's tariffs were implemented.

These are the industries that face the biggest risks now too (although the muted reaction of their shares this morning suggests investors believe they'll be resilient). Overall, economists reckon the impact to economics activity could be unhelpful but not disastrous, perhaps taking around 0.5% off GDP.

That hit is unlikely to come all at once - meaning we're more likely to see growth is likely to slowing to a crawl rather than a recession. But that’s still frustrating for a government that’s trying to raise our growth game.

But there's other repercussions to bear in mind.

Whether these tariffs come into force or not, President Trump's repeated weaponising of tariffs - and trade uncertainty - may be a catalyst for strengthening trade links between the UK and EU, potentially helping growth.

Image source, Reuters

US President Trump would "make history" if the US annexed Greenland, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Without providing Moscow's stance on the matter, Peskov says there are "international experts" who believe that the move will make "not only United States history, but world history", he's quoted by Interfax news agency.

Asked for his view on Trump's statements that he wants to secure Greenland against the threat of Russia, Peskov declines to comment.

"In general, there has been a lot of concerning information coming in in recent days. We of course are very closely observing everything that is happening, analysing the developments. As regards our plans in relation to Denmark and Greenland, I will leave that without comment," he adds.