Olaf Scholz says EU can act ‘in an hour’ if Donald Trump imposes tariffs on bloc

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the European Union can act “in an hour” if US President Donald Trump slaps threatened tariffs on the bloc.

Speaking in the first TV debate before snap elections later in the month, Scholz said his strategy for dealing with Trump is “clear words and friendly conversations.”

He pointed to his public statements after Trump said he wouldn’t rule out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland that all countries must respect existing borders.

He also pointed to the importance of European unity and said he and other countries are working on proposals to increase NATO’s presence in Greenland.

Trump first pitched the idea of taking control of Greenland on the campaign trail last year, saying it was important for America’s national security.

He said he could impose financial penalties or even use the military to force Denmark to cede the island to the United States.

Those comments sparked alarm in Denmark and Nuuk and across the European Union.

Scholz also described Trump’s suggestion that the US could take ownership of Gaza, relocate its population and redevelop it as a “scandal”.

“The relocation of populations is unacceptable and against international law,” Scholz said in the debate hosted by public broadcaster ARD and ZDF in Berlin.

His main challenger, the centre-right CDU’s (Christian Democratic Union) Friedrich Merz, also voiced unease about the proposal but suggested there’s “a lot of rhetoric” coming from Washington.

“I share this assessment,” Merz said. “But it is one of a whole series of proposals coming from the American administration that are certainly disconcerting, but one has to wait and see what is really meant seriously and how it is implemented.”

Merz said the new US president is “predictably unpredictable.”

He said that “there are significant concerns on this side of the Atlantic about what else is coming; so it’s all the more important that we on this side of the Atlantic are as united as possible.”

He said that, if elected, he would put a great deal of effort into ensuring such European unity.

Centre-left Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Merz, who is the front-runner in the 23 February snap elections, also discussed top domestic issues such as Germany’s struggling economy and migration.