Introduction: Von der Leyen, He, Macron, Carney and Bessent all to speak<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
Good morning from Davos, where the World Economic Forum is getting underway under the shadow of Donald Trump\u2019s designs on Greenland<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Nearly 3,000 leaders, including more than heads of state and government, are convening in Davos under the theme A Spirit of Dialogue \u2013 an optimistic position, given the pressures facing the old world order<\/a>.<\/p>\n The sight of one NATO member coveting another\u2019s territory, and threatening trade levies if it can\u2019t have it, is anathma to WEF\u2019s identity as a champion of the rules-based, multilateral system.<\/p>\n So, that Spirit of Dialogue will be tested, as European leaders question how to handle a US president who likes to communicate through the big stick of tariff threats.<\/p>\n As we reported yesterday, Europe is now considering retaliation:<\/p>\n It promises to be one of the most consequential, tense and dramatic WEF meetings in years. The US have sent their biggest ever delegation to Davos<\/a>, including Treasury Secretary Scott<\/strong> Bessent<\/strong> \u2013 who told reporters here yesterday it would be \u201cvery unwise\u201c for European governments to retaliate.<\/p>\n As Bessent put it:<\/p>\n\n