Following initial mixed reactions from European far-right leaders to the US special forces raid capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, mainstream leaders at a Paris summit on Ukraine shied away from challenging President Donald Trump's aggressive policies—including renewed threats to annex Greenland. Experts warn this reluctance amid NATO dependence empowers imperial actions by the US, Russia, and China.
European leaders convened in Paris on Tuesday to bolster support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion but avoided open discussion of US President Donald Trump's destabilizing foreign policy. This comes days after the January 3 US special forces operation in Caracas that captured Maduro and his wife, described by sources as an external coup, alongside Trump's threats of interventions in Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia.
The summit highlighted Europe's NATO dependence as a vulnerability, echoing Charles de Gaulle's historical critiques, especially with renewed US interest in annexing Greenland—a Danish territory.
Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, noted: "There is a massive gap between public and private reactions from European leaders. Privately, they are panicking about what happens next, especially in Greenland... But publicly on Venezuela, they are desperate not to say anything critical... at a time of maximum peril for Ukraine."
Nathalie Tocci, director of Italy's Institute of International Affairs, called Trump's approach "consistently imperial," adding it normalizes similar behavior by Putin and Xi Jinping.
Trump and Putin's actions are seen as mutually reinforcing, with NATO resembling a protection racket boosting US arms sales. Countermeasures floated include sanctions on US firms, expelling US troops, travel bans on officials, asset freezes, and even a European base in Greenland—ideas from Bruno Maçães, Raphaël Glucksmann, and Dalibor Rohac.
Publicly, responses stayed muted: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer avoided calling the Venezuela action a violation of international law; French President Emmanuel Macron said, "I cannot imagine a scenario in which the United States... would violate Danish sovereignty."
Analysts argue this appeasement may not hold against Trump's expansionism, pushing Europe to rethink security independence.
