Europe urges Trump to respect Greenland following annexation threats

The leaders of Europe’s major countries closed ranks with Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday following renewed threats from Donald Trump over the annexation of the vast island, an autonomous territory belonging to the Nordic nation, which is a member of NATO (like the U.S.) and the European Union. “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” reads a declaration signed by the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Denmark itself, with other leaders joining in the process.

The leaders who spearheaded the declaration — Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Giorgia Meloni, Donald Tusk, Pedro Sánchez, Keir Starmer, and Mette Frederiksen, all leaders of NATO member states — are aware of Europe’s vulnerability to its main security provider, Washington. Therefore, they are extending an olive branch to Trump and proposing that he strengthen security in the Arctic. The Republican magnate has asserted that he needs Greenland for U.S. “national security,” despite the fact that the United States and Denmark have a robust agreement on this matter that grants Washington considerable leeway.

“Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and it is critical for international and transatlantic security,” said the statement from European leaders released Tuesday, after the White House chief and his circle raised the tone over Greenland.

“Iron laws of the world”

Late Monday, following a string of Trump’s pronouncements on the strategic island, Stephen Miller, one of the Republican’s longest-serving advisors, endorsed the U.S. president’s intentions to seize Greenland, even if it requires the use of force. “We’re a superpower. And under President Trump, we are going to conduct ourselves as a superpower,” Miller emphasized. “We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world… that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” the White House deputy chief of staff told CNN anchor Jake Tapper. “These are the iron laws of the world.”

Now, faced with yet another threat, one of the most serious yet, European leaders are reacting, noting that both Denmark and NATO have recently focused on the Arctic. However, this premise overlooks the fact that Trump’s intentions may not only be a matter of U.S. “national security” but also an expansionist objective, as analysts and experts warn.

“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark — including Greenland — is part of NATO,” the European leaders emphasized in their statement. “Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them,” they added. They also noted that the United States is an “essential partner in this endeavour,” both as a NATO ally and through the 1951 defense agreement between the Kingdom of Denmark and Washington.

Europe is increasingly taking Trump’s words seriously, especially after his intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. In fact, Denmark, one of the most pro-NATO countries on the continent, has raised its voice with the U.S. “Unfortunately, I think the American president should be taken seriously when he says he wants Greenland,” Mette Frederiksen emphasized Monday evening in an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2. “But I will also make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War,” she warned.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has also spoken out in this regard. “No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation,” he demanded in a statement published on Facebook on Monday. The leader of the island, which is rich in rare earth elements and has a strategic geographic location, also declared himself “open to dialogue” with Washington and insisted that he seeks to “restore good relations” with the U.S. and create a “direct line” to Washington.

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