“Enough is enough,” Greenland’s regional president responded angrily. Jens-Frédérik Nielsenwho only a few months ago flirted with the idea of Danish independence and who now sees with horror how Donald Trump get what you set out to do … in Venezuela. The Arctic island is cautiously following the US intervention, knowing that Trump’s “backyard” also extends to the north.
One day after the capture of his special forces Nicolas Maduro and to take the reins of Venezuela, Trump repeated that “we absolutely need Greenland. We need it for defense,” in a statement to “The Atlantic” magazine. Nielsen responded on Facebook that such “threats, pressure and talk of annexation have no place among friends” and emphasized again that “enough is enough!” No more fantasies about annexation.
Half jokingly, half seriously, Trump reiterated his territorial claims in a conversation with journalists in which he recalled that the island has great strategic importance, “but is currently surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.” “Denmark will not be able to handle this, I assure you,” he commented on the Danish ability to defend the island.
He also suggested that it was clear to the European Union that the United States should “have” Greenland and openly mocked Denmark’s defensive capabilities: “Do you know what Denmark has been doing recently? To increase security in Greenland, they added a dog sled. additional long-range drones and satellites for better surveillance.
These graces are widely acclaimed by those around them. Katie Millerwife of Trump’s deputy chief of staff and considered a “government influencer”, Stephen Millerpublished in X a map of Greenland with the colors of the United States flag and the explanation “soon!”. And all this sparked reactions in the Nordic region. Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland have clearly rejected this scenario.
The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksenwas quick to declare in a statement that the United States had “no right” to annex part of the Danish state community. He asked the United States to “stop threatening, against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have clearly said they are not for sale.” The heads of government of Sweden and Norway, as well as the President of Finland, publicly supported Frederiksen’s statement.
The Norwegian Prime Minister, Shop Jonas Gahrdeclared that “Greenland is an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark” and added that “Norway demonstrates its full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark in defending its territorial integrity.”
“Europeans play no role for the Trump administration in Greenland”
Norbert Röttgen
CDU foreign policy expert
Ulf Kristerssonof Sweden, declared for his part that “only Denmark and Greenland have the right to decide on issues that affect Denmark and Greenland”, without forgetting to insist on the fact that “Sweden fully supports its neighboring country”.
The Finnish President, Alexander Stubbdespite his privileged links with the American president, published on the networks that “no one decides for Greenland and Denmark, except Greenland and Denmark itself”.
“Our country is not for sale”
“First of all, let me say very calmly and clearly that there is no reason to panic or worry,” he tried to calm things down. Jens-Frédérik Nielsen. “Our country is not for sale and our future is not decided by social media posts.”
But, given what happened in Venezuela, European governments now consider American military intervention in Greenland more plausible. On December 21, Trump named the “Governor of Louisiana,” Jeff Landryspecial envoy to Greenland. He is a politician who has publicly expressed support for the incorporation of Greenland into the United States.
From Germany, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul called on the EU to be “prepared to defend ourselves and our freedom more independently”, during a visit to German troops stationed in Lithuania, the 45th Armored Brigade “Lithuania”.
The foreign policy expert of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Norbert Röttgenwarned of the consequences for Europe in Greenland of Maduro’s capture. “For Europe, this means that there is no indication that President Trump will reverse his announcement that Greenland will be annexed to the United States.” “Even then, Europe has virtually no leverage. The little that would then be on our side would be international law. Therefore, relativizing the authority of international law in the case of Venezuela is not in Europe’s interest,” he insisted, “because in its national security strategy the United States considers the American continent as its domain. For the Trump administration, the implementation of its interests in this country is not a question of international law. “The Europeans play no role here for the Trump administration.”
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