European Council President António Costa stressed that defending international law and multilateralism is key for the EU. He rejected “violations of international law whether in Ukraine, Greenland, Latin America or Gaza” and “violations of human rights whether in Iran, Sudan or Afghanistan”. Speaking about the 22 January EU summit, he stressed the EU’s unity on international law, territorial integrity and sovereignty. He expressed full solidarity with Denmark and Greenland and highlighted the shared transatlantic interest in Arctic security. He warned that further tariffs would harm EU-US relations, reaffirmed the EU’s readiness to defend itself against any form of coercion, and underlined the EU’s willingness to continue constructive engagement with the United States.

On trade agreements, António Costa defended the EU-Mercosur deal as “historic” having special political, economic and geopolitical significance in the current global context. On the economy, he…