The European Commission has “heard the statements” made by US President Donald Trump in the days following the American invasion of Venezuela about what he considers the “absolute” need to “have” Greenland. A Commission spokesperson said this on Monday said at a press conference in Brussels.
She refused to condemn the new threats after journalists repeatedly asked about them. “We do not comment in detail, we consider it a matter of principle that all our partners adhere to [afspraken over] sovereignty, territorial integrity and international obligations.”
Greenland enjoys autonomous status within the kingdom of EU and NATO member state Denmark. Since the start of his second term, Trump has repeatedly called for the annexation of Greenland, which is rich in natural resources and has a strategic military location.
Aboard the presidential plane Air Force One, Trump told reporters this weekend: “The EU needs us [in Groenland] and they know it.” On Monday, reporters at a daily Commission press conference wanted to know whether that statement was correct. This was “certainly not” the EU position, the spokesperson said. She is “not aware of any discussions” between the US and the EU on the issue. “Greenland has its autonomy,” she emphasized. Although a country may be ‘interesting’ for another country, this should ‘not go beyond’ investments.
A second Commission spokesman, asked to condemn Trump’s interest in Greenland, reiterated that the EU “continues to uphold the principle of national sovereignty.” She did not comment on what those words mean in practice.
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‘Unacceptable’
After previous statements in which Trump alluded to the annexation of Greenland, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded
still somewhat stoic. He opted out on Monday Facebook for a fiercer tone: “Enough is enough”, Trump’s rhetoric is “completely unacceptable”. The American president must give up “his fantasies about annexation.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, meanwhile, declared that “the US has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Kingdom of Denmark.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer then said: “I support her.” “Only Greenland and Denmark decide the future of Greenland.”
News site EU Observer writes that Sweden, Finland, France and Norway also announced on Monday that they support Denmark. Sunday evening signed 26 EU Member States (Hungary declined) issued a statement stating, without explicitly naming Greenland, that international law must be respected “under all circumstances”.
Europe needs the US to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and is therefore reluctant to speak out more forcefully against Trump. Mujtaba Rahman of think tank Eurasia Group says otherwise Politico that an American attack on Greenland could push unity within the EU and NATO to the limit.
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