European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared that the sovereignty of Greenland is “non-negotiable” during her address on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Despite Greenland not being a member of the European Union — having left the prior European Community in 1985 to become an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT) with connections through its Colonial master Denmark — EU chief Von der Leyen made the topic of the Arctic island a key piece in her speech in the Swiss Alps.
The German politician said that the bloc’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs or potential military action in Greenland will be “unflinching, united and proportional.”
“First principle, full solidarity with Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark. The sovereignty and integrity of their territory is nonnegotiable,” von der Leyen said.
The sudden support for national sovereignty from the EU chief comes in stark contrast to her actions since taking office in Brussels, which have often been marked by sanctions against countries such as Hungary and Poland for protecting their own borders or making decisions on social issues.
It is also unclear whether Von der Leyen would be in favour of the Greenlandic people holding an independence referendum and fully ceding from Denmark, as they are enabled to do through the 2009 Self-Government Act.
The ability of Greenland to kick off its colonial ruler and the frayed relations between the two populations over major scandals, such as the Danish health authorities sterilising Greenlandic women for decades without their knowledge, have led to concerns that the island’s residents may leave the NATO country and seek partnerships with adversaries such as Russia or China.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made it policy to forcefully uphold the Monroe Doctrine, which stipulates that America will have hegemony over the Western Hemisphere, has argued that control over Greenland is a national security necessity for the United States. Mr Trump has also asserted that Denmark is incapable of defending the territory and thus Copenhagen should hand over ownership to Washington.
As he travelled to Davos, President Trump shared multiple memes on his Truth Social platform, including AI-generated images depicting him planting the United States flag on Greenland and another showing him sitting in front of European leaders with a map featuring Greenland as U.S. territory.
In an attempt to address some of the concerns raised by the White House, Von der Leyen said in her address that the European Union is planning a “massive” investment surge in Greenland to develop local infrastructure.
Furthermore, she said that Brussels will seek to “work together” with the United States in the region to increase Arctic security, saying that it “is clearly in our shared interest and we will step up our investment.”
“In particular, I believe we should use our defence spending surge on a European icebreaker capability and other equipment vital to the Arctic security,” she said, adding that the bloc will also “look at how to strengthen our security partnerships with partners such as the UK, Canada, Norway, Iceland, and others” in the region.
President Trump has so far committed to a maximalist position on Greenland becoming part of the United States, and over the weekend announced plans to tariff the eight European nations that have sent additional troops to Greenland in an apparent show of force.
Von der Leyen said that the tariffs were a “mistake” and would spark a “dangerous downward spiral that would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of our strategic landscape.”
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