Introduction: Von der Leyen, He, Macron, Carney and Bessent all to speak
Good morning from Davos, where the World Economic Forum is getting underway under the shadow of Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland.
Nearly 3,000 leaders, including more than heads of state and government, are convening in Davos under the theme A Spirit of Dialogue – an optimistic position, given the pressures facing the old world order.
The sight of one NATO member coveting another’s territory, and threatening trade levies if it can’t have it, is anathma to WEF’s identity as a champion of the rules-based, multilateral system.
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.
As we reported yesterday, Europe is now considering retaliation:
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, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – who told reporters here yesterday it would be “very unwise“ for European governments to retaliate.
As Bessent put it:
“I think it’s a complete canard that the president will be doing this because of the Nobel prize. The president is looking at Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States.”
Greenland isn’t the only crisis overshadowing Davos; Iran, Ukraine, AI bubble fears, and Trump’s choice of the next head of the US Federal Reserve are also on delegates’ minds.
There’s also a lot going on outside the WEF congress centre itself, as many businesses and governments have taken over Davos shops and turned them into their own bases for the week.
So as well as the talking and speechifying, there’ll be business deals being carved up here in the snow.
Trump is due to address Davos on Wednesday in a special address; today we’ll hear from Ursula von der Leyenpresident of the European Union, French president Emmanuel MacronChina’s vice-premier He Lifengand Canada’s prime minister Mark Carneywith UK chancellor Rachel Reeves also appearing on a panel.
The agenda
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9.30am Davos / 8.30am GMT: Conversation with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
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10.50am Davos / 9.50am GMT: Speech: Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Union
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11.20am Davos / 10.20am GMT: He Lifeng, Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China
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2pm Davos / 1pm GMT: Speech: French president Emmanuel Macron
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2.30pm Davos / 1.30pm GMT: Conversation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
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3.30pm Davos/ 2.30pm GMT: Conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar
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4.15pm Davos / 3.15pm GMT: Panel discussion on “Prosperity: Sovereign Yet Connected?” including chancellor Rachel Reeves
Key events
Donald Trump has suggested Britain’s decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is among the reasons he wants to take over Greenland.
Karen Harrismanaging director of Bain & Company’s Macro Trends Group, says a new post-globalisation era is beginning, amid the ‘Great Transformation’:
“As the World Economic Forum in Davos gets underway, what is more striking than ever given recent events is that 2025 will ultimately be remembered as the year in which neoliberal globalisation ended and the post-globalisation era began. The world seems to be in the early stages of a new multidecadal era we refer to as the Great Transformation, with 2025 likely to ultimately be recalled as the inflection point for its acceleration.
“In the medium and longer term, we expect these changes will be growth drivers. But this time of change is occurring just as one of the most highly exaggerated business cycles in modern history (the post-pandemic cycle) is coming to its end.
“At present, the major global economies are caught in the conflict between reasons to accelerate and reasons to stop, much like a driver with one foot on the gas and another on the brake. The open question for us in 2026 is whether this year will bring a resolution to this clash between the long-term drivers of growth and acceleration and the short-term (business cycle) drivers of recession.”
Reeves plans to refund some visa fees in effort to attract ‘trailblazer’ investment to UK
Heather Stewart
Rachel Reeves will pledge to refund visa fees for some global businesses on Tuesday, as she flies to the World Economic Forum in Davos aiming to showcase the UK as a haven of stability, despite Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats.
The chancellor, who will be accompanied by the business secretary, Peter Kyle, will hold a series of meetings with business leaders at the annual gathering of the global elite in the Swiss mountain resort.
She will announce tweaks to the visa regime aimed at encouraging “trailblazer” businesses to bring highly skilled staff to the UK – including refunding fees – and speeding up the time it takes to qualify as a sponsor of migrant workers.
“Some countries give you a platform, but Britain gives you momentum. My message at Davos this week is clear: choose Britain – it’s the best place in the world to invest,” the chancellor said in pre-released remarks.
Trump: we’ll discuss Greenland in Davos
Yesterday, president Donald Trump said the United States would talk about acquiring Greenland at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
He claimed Denmark cannot protect the country, telling reporters in Florida:
“We have to have it. They have to have this done. They can’t protect it, Denmark, they’re wonderful people.
I know the leaders, they’re very good people, but they don’t even go there.”
Trump also said in a social media post that he had a “good telephone call” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and that he had agreed to a meeting of “various parties” on Greenland in Davos.
Introduction: Von der Leyen, He, Macron, Carney and Bessent all to speak
Good morning from Davos, where the World Economic Forum is getting underway under the shadow of Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland.
Nearly 3,000 leaders, including more than heads of state and government, are convening in Davos under the theme A Spirit of Dialogue – an optimistic position, given the pressures facing the old world order.
The sight of one NATO member coveting another’s territory, and threatening trade levies if it can’t have it, is anathma to WEF’s identity as a champion of the rules-based, multilateral system.
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.
As we reported yesterday, Europe is now considering retaliation:
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, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – who told reporters here yesterday it would be “very unwise“ for European governments to retaliate.
As Bessent put it:
“I think it’s a complete canard that the president will be doing this because of the Nobel prize. The president is looking at Greenland as a strategic asset for the United States.”
Greenland isn’t the only crisis overshadowing Davos; Iran, Ukraine, AI bubble fears, and Trump’s choice of the next head of the US Federal Reserve are also on delegates’ minds.
There’s also a lot going on outside the WEF congress centre itself, as many businesses and governments have taken over Davos shops and turned them into their own bases for the week.
So as well as the talking and speechifying, there’ll be business deals being carved up here in the snow.
Trump is due to address Davos on Wednesday in a special address; today we’ll hear from Ursula von der Leyenpresident of the European Union, French president Emmanuel MacronChina’s vice-premier He Lifengand Canada’s prime minister Mark Carneywith UK chancellor Rachel Reeves also appearing on a panel.
The agenda
-
9.30am Davos / 8.30am GMT: Conversation with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
-
10.50am Davos / 9.50am GMT: Speech: Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Union
-
11.20am Davos / 10.20am GMT: He Lifeng, Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China
-
2pm Davos / 1pm GMT: Speech: French president Emmanuel Macron
-
2.30pm Davos / 1.30pm GMT: Conversation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
-
3.30pm Davos/ 2.30pm GMT: Conversation with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar
-
4.15pm Davos / 3.15pm GMT: Panel discussion on “Prosperity: Sovereign Yet Connected?” including chancellor Rachel Reeves
