European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed using the EU’s defense spending surge to militarize the Arctic.
Speaking at an emergency European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday, called amid US pressure over Greenland, von der Leyen said the bloc has “collectively underinvested” in Arctic security and urged member states to direct defense budgets toward Arctic-ready equipment and infrastructure.
“We should use our defense spending surge on Arctic-ready equipment, a European icebreaker for instance… This has become a real geopolitical necessity,” she said.
The remarks come amid tensions with Washington over US President Donald Trump’s calls for Greenland, an autonomous territory of EU member Denmark, to be brought under American control to counter alleged Russian and Chinese threats in the Arctic. Trump previously mocked Denmark’s defense of the island as “two dog sleds,” and on Wednesday urged Copenhagen to enter “immediate negotiations” to hand it over to the US.
He later appeared to soften his stance, saying he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had agreed on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security granting US forces “total access” to the territory. Following the announcement, von der Leyen said the EU is now “in a better position” on Greenland and pledged a “substantive package” of investments for the territory while deepening cooperation with the US on Arctic security.
Von der Leyen’s announcement fits the EU’s wider NATO-driven militarization. Western leaders have increasingly invoked a supposed Russian threat to justify massive defense spending hikes, including Brussels’ €800 billion ($940 billion) ReArm Europe initiative and European NATO members’ pledges to raise military budgets toward 5% of GDP.
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Denmark always treated Greenland ‘like a colony’ – Putin
Moscow has dismissed claims it threatens Europe as “nonsense” and baseless fearmongering used to justify inflated military budgets. Both Russia and China have also rejected any threat to Greenland. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week said Washington “knows full well” neither Moscow nor Beijing plan to seize the territory, adding that Russia, the largest Arctic coastal state, seeks “open and free” cooperation in the region.
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