【By Guanchazhe.com, Chen Sijia】The threats made by US President Trump on Greenland and tariffs have rapidly deteriorated the relations between the US and the EU. In this context, the conflict between the US and the EU is not limited to politics, but also extends to the cultural sphere.

According to "Politico" Europe edition, on January 21, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave a speech at the World Economic Forum, promoting a new regulation for start-ups applicable throughout the EU. However, the vocabulary used by von der Leyen in her speech caused dissatisfaction among European parliamentarians, who criticized her for using American corporate terminology, which they deemed inappropriate for the current geopolitical environment.

In her speech on January 20, von der Leyen said that the EU would soon introduce the "28th regime," an proposed legal framework aimed at building a "true European company structure." By establishing a unified, simple, and EU-wide set of regulations, it will make it easier for companies to operate across member states within the EU.

Von der Leyen referred to it as "EU Inc.," claiming that the new regulatory framework will allow companies to "register in any EU member state within 48 hours," and enjoy the same capital system throughout the EU.

On January 20, Davos, Switzerland, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum. IC photo

However, this speech caused dissatisfaction among European parliamentarians, including René Repasi, a member of the European Parliament and the main proponent of the "28th regime" framework. This member of the German Social Democratic Party argued that "Inc." is a suffix mainly used by American registered companies, and it was inappropriate for von der Leyen to use such a clearly American-sounding word in the current geopolitical environment.

Repasi named the legal framework of the "28th regime" as "Societas Europaea Unificata," a term derived from Latin meaning "unified European company." The European Parliament voted in favor of his proposed name.

Repasi explained, "We should go back to the roots of the languages of the European continent." He believed that the European Parliament tends to choose terms based on Latin rather than American-style abbreviations, which is precisely the reason behind this choice.

"Politico" mentioned that in recent years, many European parliamentarians have also been dissatisfied with the term "Act" commonly used by the EU, such as the Digital Markets Act and the AI Act. They believe that this is imitating the concise and powerful style of legislation in the US Congress.

These European parliamentarians criticized that, in the context where the EU administration uses English as its primary language, this naming convention somewhat abandons the traditional European expressions of "directives" and "regulations."

This kind of language debate with clear geopolitical connotations had occurred before in 2003. At that time, an American congressman, angry at France's refusal to participate in the Iraq War, replaced the "French" in the English word "French fries" with "Freedom," renaming the fries in three congressional cafeterias as "Freedom fries."

"Politico" believes that the arguments raised by European parliamentarians like Repasi reflect the gradual increase in anti-American sentiment in Europe, and there is some resistance to the "Americanization" of language and culture in European society.

Since Trump returned to the White House, he has issued tariff threats against Europe and even threatened to seize Denmark's autonomous territory, Greenland, causing concern in the EU and leading to a rapid deterioration of US-EU relations. However, Trump suddenly changed his stance on January 21 at the World Economic Forum, retracting his previous threat of imposing tariffs to force Denmark to hand over Greenland, and explicitly ruled out the possibility of using military force.

He hinted that the US and Europe were approaching an agreement, saying, "This is an agreement that everyone is very satisfied with. It is a long-term agreement, the ultimate long-term agreement. It puts everyone in a very favorable position, especially in terms of security and minerals."

Although Trump's tough rhetoric has softened, EU officials remain vigilant. An EU official directly involved in the negotiations recently said, "If this is a big deal, I am deeply skeptical. Our lives and national governance cannot be built on social media posts."

German Deputy Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars-Peter Schultze pointed out that it is still too early to claim that the imminent dispute between the US and the EU has ended. In an interview with German TV channel ZDF, he said that Europe should first observe whether NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Trump can reach a substantive agreement, adding, "Whatever solution is reached regarding the Greenland issue, everyone must be clear that we cannot rest easy or become complacent."

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7598193392322691626/

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