Is a new world 'without rules' emerging? What global leaders have said

The world order is in the "midst of a rupture", leaders have warned - telling how international law is being "trampled underfoot" and "imperial ambitions are resurfacing".

The row over US President Donald Trump's desire to annex Greenland, and his ongoing rhetoric, along with his threats to impose tariffs, is dominating the agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

There is also concern across Latin America over Trump's efforts to seize Venezuela's oil.

In Davos, the American leader said: "I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it's not heading in the right direction."

And in reference to Greenland, he said: "This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America. That's our territory."

World leaders believe "rules-based order is fading" and there's a shift to a new era "without rules".

Davos latest - US says it won't use force over Greenland

'A rupture, not a transition'

Canadian Prime Minister ​Mark Carney headed home from Davos without meeting Trump - and said the world is "in the midst of a rupture, not a transition".

He added: "Every day we're reminded that we live in an era of great-power rivalry.

"That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must."

He warned the "middle powers must act together because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu".

"There is a strong tendency for countries to go along to get along," he said. "To accommodate. To avoid trouble. To hope that compliance will buy safety. It won't.

"Great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited."

'Imperial ambitions are resurfacing'

French President Emmanuel Macron said: "It's a shift towards a world without rules.

"Where international law is trampled underfoot and where the only law that seems to matter is that of the strongest, and imperial ambitions are resurfacing."

He denounced competition from the US "through trade agreements that undermine our export interests, demand maximum concessions".

Such moves "openly aim to weaken and subordinate Europe", said Mr Macron, and when combined with an "endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable", they are used as "leverage against territorial sovereignty".

'Time to build a new Europe'

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was time to "build a new independent Europe" and any diplomatic "downward spiral" in the West would only embolden its adversaries.

"The proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between long-standing allies," she said.

"My point is: if this change is permanent, then Europe must change permanently too. It is time to seize this opportunity and build a new independent Europe.

"We consider the people of the United States not just our allies, but our friends.

"And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape."

In a speech in the European Parliament, she added: "We are at a crossroads. Europe prefers dialogue and solutions - but we are fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination.

"In this increasingly lawless world, Europe needs its own levers of power."

'Old world order unravelling at breath-taking pace'

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said "tectonic shifts" were taking place in the global order and a "new era" had already begun.

Speaking at Davos, Mr Merz said the cooperation witnessed at the forum stood in contrast to how the "old world order was unravelling at breath-taking pace".

"We have entered a time of great power politics," he said.

"The international order of the last three decades, anchored in international law, has always been imperfect, today its very foundation have been shaken."

But he said the world did not have to "accept this new reality as fate".

Mr Merz said: "Despite all the ‌frustration and anger of recent months, let us not be too quick to write off the transatlantic
partnership."

He also backed talks between US, Denmark and Greenland and Mr Trump's decision not to use military force to take Greenland and to instead seek a deal.

"It is good news that we are making steps into that right direction," Mr Merz said.

'Say no and we'll remember'

The US president has said the US "won't use force" to take Greenland, calling instead for "immediate negotiations".

"We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force," Mr Trump said. "We would be, frankly, unstoppable, but I won't do that."

(c) Sky News 2026: Is a new world 'without rules' emerging? What global leaders have said