Trump threatens to take Greenland, EU oppose

US President Donald Trump has warned that if European countries oppose his plan to acquire Greenland, he will impose tariffs on their goods. This statement has helped unify European allies in defence of Greenland’s sovereignty.

Denmark’s foreign minister stated that the United States cannot claim ownership of the autonomous territory of Greenland under Denmark through threats. The UK’s foreign minister also said that the future of Greenland is solely the right of its people and Denmark.

In interviews, Trump did not directly say he would use military force to seize Greenland, but warned that tariffs would be imposed on goods from seven NATO allies. He said a 10 percent tariff will be applied on UK products from February 1 and 25 percent from June 1. The same tariffs would apply to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland.

Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen commented that threatening tariffs is not a solution and boundaries cannot be crossed in claiming Greenland. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO will continue to work jointly with Denmark and Greenland to ensure security in the Arctic region.

The European Union will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Thursday regarding the issue. EU foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas said Europe will not enter into conflict but will not back down in defending Greenland’s sovereignty. She added that commercial threats are not a solution.

Meanwhile, NORAD, the joint US-Canada defence organisation, reported that military aircraft have been dispatched to the Pituffik space base in Greenland. They stated that this is a routine and pre-planned operation and that Denmark and Greenland’s authorities were informed in advance.