U.S. President-elect Donald Trump‘s stated intention to take over the territory of Greenland is expected to be the focus of Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede‘s meeting with Denmark’s King Frederik in Copenhagen today. Just weeks before his 20 January inauguration in Washington, Trump declined to rule out the use of “military or economic” force in his bid to acquire Greenland and repossess the Panama Canal when responding to a question at his Mar-a-Lago press conference in Florida yesterday.
In 2019, Donald Trump cancelled a planned visit to Denmark after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rebuffed his idea of the U.S. purchasing Greenland. Yesterday, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived in Greenland on what was described as a private visit.
With a population of 57,000, Greenland has been part of Denmark for 600 years. A semi-sovereign territory under the Danish realm, it now has charge of most of its own domestic affairs. Lately, however, relations with Copenhagen have been strained because of the alleged historical mistreatment of Greenlanders under Denmark’s colonial rule.
Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen said she found it hard to believe that Trump’s territorial aspirations could result in U.S. military intervention in Greenland. Although responsible for the security and defence of Greenland, Denmark’s military capabilities in the territory consist of no more than four inspection vessels, a Challenger surveillance plane, and dog sled patrols.
As for Trump’s threat of tariffs against Denmark, Frederiksen declared that a trade war with the U.S. would not be a good way forward. One of Europe’s most valuable companies, the Denmark-based Novo Nordisk makes the weight-loss drug Wegovy that is now so popular in the U.S.
PM Egde, the Greenland leader, has made clear that the island is not for sale. Denmark, too, has stated that the territory is not for sale, insisting that only Greenlanders can decide its fate.
Trump’s aspirations to expand U.S. control over the territory have not gone unnoticed elsewhere in Europe. “There is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio.
“If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no. But have we entered into a period of time when it is survival of the fittest? Then my answer is yes,” Barrot said.
The EU should not let itself be intimidated or be overly concerned, he added, but it should wake up and show strength.
