MUNICH, Germany — Europe must emerge as a geopolitical power that speaks in a “direct and clear” way to the U.S. as it moves to reset transatlantic ties, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa told POLITICO.

In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, “I don’t think we will be doing business as usual,” Siliņa said in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. 

“When we showed our unanimity in supporting Greenland and Denmark, I think [the relationship] shifted a little bit,” she added. “We have to be taken seriously as collective European countries.”

The remarks reflect a growing consensus across Europe that the Greenland episode — the worst in a long line of feuds between allies sparked by Trump since his return to the White House — has put an unprecedented strain on transatlantic ties. 

On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich adopted a warmer tone, stressing that Washington would not be the “caretakers of the West’s managed decline” but insisted he wanted to “revitalize an old friendship” with Europe.

Many Europeans greeted Rubio’s comments with caution, noting that the Trump administration’s ideological underpinnings haven’t changed. Siliņa said he showed that “Europe and the U.S. stand together for a stronger, safer, and more prosperous future” but added that “the world is different now.” 

That means both sides have to set the rules on “how Europe will deal with the U.S. and the U.S. with Europe,” she added.

If Europe is to become more decisive, that means rethinking onerous procedures that require all 27 often fractious countries to come to an agreement.

That’s already starting to change. EU leaders last week agreed that countries could break into smaller like-minded groups in a bid to speed up lawmaking and defang veto threats from countries like Hungary which have blocked aid to Ukraine and defense cooperation efforts.

“Europe itself is changing and our decision-making probably will be changing,” Siliņa said.

The bloc’s defense chief Andrius Kubilius has proposed setting up a U.N.-style European Security Council that would make it possible to take swift decisions in times of crisis, especially if the EU decides to create a military “rapid reaction force.”

Calling the proposal a “really reasonable idea,” Siliņa said: “Why not to make a Security Council?”

The center-right politician also said she was open to joining early-stage talks on a European nuclear deterrent — an idea gaining traction among many EU capitals amid uncertainty over the U.S. promise to protect the continent with its atomic weapons. 

“If we are taking our previous commitments into account then why not?” she said.

A better armed and more decisive Europe will also garner more respect, she said.

“It means with the U.S., we will be ready to give a response maybe in a more direct and clear way,” she said. “We will have this tango but maybe it will have some new moves.”