Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 16, 2026
1 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrance warns the US that actions against Greenland could harm EU trade relations, emphasizing potential economic sanctions and the sovereignty of Greenland.
Jan 16 (Reuters) - France's Finance Minister Roland Lescure has warned U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that any move to seize Greenland would amount to a "crossed line" endangering Europe's economic relationship with Washington, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
"Greenland is a sovereign part of a sovereign country that is part of the EU. That shouldn’t be messed around [with],", Lescure told FT.
When asked whether the EU should retaliate with economic sanctions if U.S. President Donald Trump were to invade Greenland, Lescure told FT "I’m not going there. I mean, obviously, if that happened we would be in a totally new world for sure, and we would have to adapt accordingly."
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Economic sanctions are restrictive measures imposed by countries or international organizations to influence or punish a nation or group. They can include trade barriers, tariffs, and restrictions on financial transactions.
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