President Donald Trump’s Greenland gambit alarmed Europe’s mainstream and has even led some nationalist leaders – once proud of their ties to Trump – to distance themselves from him.

The European economy recorded modest growth at the end of last year, pushing past turmoil over higher U.S. tariffs. Now the economy faces another hurdle: a stronger euro against the dollar that could weigh on exports.

Brussels has accelerated its outreach to markets around the world. Over the past year, von der Leyen has signed deals with Japan, Indonesia, Mexico and South America under the catchphrase “strategic autonomy,” which in practice is akin to decoupling from a U.S. seen by most European leaders as erratic.

By Sarah Marsh and Matthias Williams BERLIN, Jan 29 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday said Europe had found "self-respect" in standing up for a rules-based global order, and called for a stronger NATO within Europe while still extending the hand of cooperation to the United States.

India has shed import duties on European cars, opening its long-protected auto industry from global competition.

Vietnam and the European Union have upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Vietnam’s highest diplomatic level.

China’s leverage rests on its near-monopoly of rare-earth supply chains. It accounts for 70% of the ores dug up, over 90% of the refined material and nine-tenths of the magnets made from them. It has consolidated the industry into a handful of national champions and developed a tracing system to follow every tonne of rare earths.

EU foreign ministers agreed on new sanctions on Iran in response to the brutal oppression of anti-government protests, as support grows for designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization.