Overview
- The European Council summoned heads of state and government to Brussels for 19:00 local time on Thursday to agree a coordinated response.
- EU ambassadors discussed a possible €93 billion retaliation package that had been parked last year to enable a summer trade deal with Washington.
- Diplomats say any such measures are frozen until February 6 as leaders pursue a diplomatic path.
- France, Germany, Spain and Poland pressed for first use of the EU’s anticoercion instrument, which could restrict trade, investment, IP rights and access to public tenders.
- Commission spokesman Olof Gill said the bloc is prepared to act to protect EU economic interests, with Davos seen as an early venue for outreach and no von der Leyen–Trump meeting scheduled.