Eurotopics.net

Discussions about Greenland and the US's plans for a takeover will be held in Washington today. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt. US Vice President JD Vance, who has emphasised his country's security interests and advised Europeans to take Trump seriously on the matter, also plans to attend. Europe's press points to a major conflict of interests within Nato.

The regime in Iran is reacting to the wave of protests in the country with a major crackdown and mass arrests. Amnesty International has warned that public executions of demonstrators are imminent, the Iranian ambassadors have been summoned in several European capitals, and US President Donald Trump has threatened "decisive action" if death sentences are carried out.

In an interview for the British podcast The Rest is Politics, Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, said that she would vote in favour of unification with Romania if a referendum were held on the issue. She noted that for a small country like Moldova, it was becoming "increasingly difficult to survive as a democracy, as a sovereign country." Reactions in both countries are divided.

In France, Marine Le Pen's appeal trial against her conviction for misusing EU funds has begun. In the first instance, the judges ruled that the presidential candidate of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) is barred from standing for election for five years - which would include the 2027 presidential election. Commentators discuss whether Jordan Bardella, the current leader of the RN party and only 30 years old, could replace her as its presidential candidate.

After US President Donald Trump reiterated his threats to take over Greenland, several European leaders have voiced opposition to the move. "It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland," reads a joint statement by Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK and Denmark. Commentators discuss how Europe can respond.