Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542709
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 JANUARY 2026 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Nonetheless, they hold mixed views as to whether the EU should seek escalation, not- ing, however, that the bloc has strong retaliatory powers of its own. Nothing to be surprised about All of the Labour MEPs who spoke to MaltaToday said Trump's escalation came as no surprise, saying the tension has been building up for months. "This is not a new situation, and is further escalation of what we have seen over the past couple of months. If the EU was surprised, the EU was living in a parallel universe," Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba (S&D) said. His compatriot, Daniel Attard (S&D) agreed with the senti- ment, saying Trump is deliver- ing on the America First pledge made during the election cam- paign. "I absolutely do not agree with him or his style, but the prison yard tactics he is employing are what he campaigned on," Attard said. In these circum- stances, the Labour MEP add- ed, Europe must remain united or it risks becoming irrelevant. Attard said the worst scenar- io for Europe would be mili- tary conflict. "I prefer to see 10 years of dialogue, even if some- times stagnant, then one day of military conflict." Labour MEP Thomas Baja- da (S&D) agreed with calls for unity and increased coordina- tion among members states, but insisted the EU must not rush towards a decision. Nationalist MEP David Ca- sa (EPP) agreed with calls for increased unity, saying Eu- rope was right to make every effort to find common ground through restraint and dialogue. However, Casa noted that it is clear the strategy of appease- ment has failed: "Our caution has been interpreted as weak- ness and has only invited fur- ther pressure." The MEPs collectively warned against allowing the US to drive a wedge between EU member states. Daniel Attard said the EU not being a federal state puts it at a disadvantage since de- cision-making tends to be cumbersome and complicated, unlike that within other me- ga states like China and the US. However, Attard said this should not hold the EU back from taking a principled and united stand. Addressing the European Parliament plenary on Mon- day, President Roberta Metsola warned that the US's unilater- al measures "will not help im- prove security in the Arctic". "They risk the opposite," she added. "Transatlantic and Arc- tic security could be achieved without the destabilising im- pact of calling Greenland's and Denmark's sovereignty into question, or through measures like tariffs," Metsola said. The EP president emphasised that the EU supports Denmark and the people of Greenland. But despite her firm stance, Metsola signalled the EU re- mains open to dialogue with Washington. "Europe will al- ways be open to continue to discuss in a spirit of mutu- al respect," she said, echoing a message from EU Council President Antonio Costa, who has convened an emergency Council meeting for Thursday. EU retaliation EU leaders and diplomats have been scrambling to find solutions to Trump's offensive, and while all MEPs who spoke to this newspaper urged cau- tion, they pointed to what they believe is the "EU's greatest weapon"—the single market. "The EU is not without lev- erage. As one of the world's largest economic blocs, Europe has the weight and the means to defend its interests and its decision-making autonomy. It is only with strength and unity that we can ensure peace and stability," David Casa said. Bajada agreed, calling the sin- gle market as the EU's "biggest tool". "Sometimes in Malta we see it as a disadvantage, but it's one of the biggest tools at our dis- posal," Bajada insisted. Nationalist MEP Peter Agius (EPP) agreed the EU has the tools to hit back at the US with tariffs of its own as it did in the past with other countries. "The EU single market is one of the biggest trading markets in the world, and it would im- pact the US. It's not a question of whether it can, but whether it should," Agius said. However, he acknowledged the difficulty to navigate these circumstanc- es. "No one has yet cracked the Trump enigma." Agius Saliba on the other hand insisted re- taliation would get the EU no- where, and as it had done in the past, it should strive for a dip- lomatic solution. "The EU must re-adopt is diplomacy, and that has to remain centre-stage. We should not resort to military strength. The strength of the EU has always been in broker- ing peace, and it must remain that way," Agius Saliba said. Looking at the past to fix the future Attard and Agius Saliba both pointed towards past deci- sions as the reason why the EU finds itself on the backfoot diplomatically. "The EU suffers from a lack of credibility and consisten- cy. We cannot send messages of approval on the US's in- tervention in Venezuela and Iran, but then think we can do nothing on Greenland," Attard said. "Even on Iran, for exam- ple, we banned Iranian diplo- mats, but we retained Israeli ones, despite the clearly docu- mented evidence showing the genocide carried out by their government in Gaza." Agius Saliba said the bloc is perceived as weak and has been side-lined on major geo-political happenings. Bajada shifted the blame to other reasons, saying the rules-based order the EU has been accustomed to has changed. "The game is being played with different rules now, and the rules are changing con- stantly," he noted. Peter Agius on the oth- er hand welcomed Europe's strategy. "I believe the EU is reacting well. It's not reacting to the provocation by the US. It is sometimes listening to what the 'monster' has to say, but always keeping it at arm's length," he said. Single market is EU's greatest weapon