Paris and Berlin are reportedly coordinating efforts to craft a European plan to respond to overtures from the Trump administration regarding the prospect of the United States acquiring Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark.
Renewed focus has been placed on the fate of the semi-autonomous island of Greenland this week in the wake of Washington’s bold military operation to overthrow socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, in what the White House has described as a demonstration of the Monroe Doctrine, which asserts that America has hegemonic control over the Western Hemisphere and it is therefore within its rights to take action against any foreign incursion into its sphere of influence.
Naturally, questions quickly arose over the status of Greenland, which, despite being in the Western Hemisphere and a part of North America, remains under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Denmark as a self-governing territory.
Despite Greenland not being a member of the European Union, and even withdrew from the preceding European Community in 1985 to become an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT) associated with the bloc through Denmark, EU nations have been vocally opposed to the stated aims of the Trump administration to acquire the island and have reacted with exasperated indignation over suggestions from the White House that the U.S. would be willing to use force to achieve its goal.
On Tuesday evening, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region… The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilising the U.S. military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”
In response, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said, in comments reported by Reuters, that Paris will partner with Berlin and Warsaw this week to craft a response to the United States, saying: “We want to take action, but we want to do so together with our European partners.”
The news wire service went on to cite an unnamed German government source who said that Berlin is “closely working together with other European countries and Denmark on the next steps regarding Greenland.”
Although much focus has been placed on President Trump’s apparent hardline negotiating stance, top administration figures such as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller have downplayed the likelihood that America would actually need to use military force to obtain Greenland.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed lawmakers in a closed hearing this week that the administration’s public posturing around military force was intended to bring Denmark to the negotiating table for a sale of the island.
Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, Copenhagen and Nuuk are seeking a meeting with Secretary Rubio to discuss the White House’s position on the issue. Earlier this week, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that if the United States used military power to take the Arctic island, it would spell the end of NATO, despite her country’s military contributions to the military alliance being dwarfed by America, which spends more on defence than the rest of the 31 NATO members combined.
American desire to take control of Greenland dates back to the 1860s when then-Secretary of State William H. Seward — who successfully negotiated the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire — first floated the notion of the U.S. annexing Greenland and Iceland. Multiple efforts have been attempted since, including in the wake of World War II, however, none have been successful. Should the Trump administration succeed where other past administrations failed, it would mark the largest expansion of U.S. territory, eclipsing the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
Alternative proposals to outright acquisition have also been mooted, however, including potentially signing a Compact of Free Association (COFA), as the U.S. has inked with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau. Under the terms of such an agreement, nations retain their independence but allow for the American military to operate unencumbered within their borders. In exchange, they are granted free trade with the United States and receive assistance with essential services, economic aid, and visa-free rights to travel, work, and reside in the United States.
Such an agreement with Greenland would likely require the 57,000 residents of the island to vote in a referendum on independence from Denmark, which the self-governing island has the right to call at any time under the Self-Government Act of 2009. The Danish parliament would have to give final approval to the vote, providing leverage for Copenhagen to request financial compensation from the United States under any agreement.
An unnamed European Union diplomat also briefed POLITICO this week to suggest that the United States may seek to use potential security guarantees in Ukraine following a peace agreement with Russia as leverage over European allies to soften their stance on America gaining control over Greenland.
The ability for Greenland to hold a referendum on independence has sparked concerns in Washington that the island could free itself from Denmark and then fall under the influence of adversarial states such as Communist China or Vladimir Putin’s Russia, both of which have an increasing interest in access to the Arctic, which Greenland could potentially provide. The Trump administration has also expressed concerns about access to Greenland’s large deposits of rare-earth minerals, given China’s active policy of seeking mining rights globally and Beijing’s willingness to use access to minerals in trade disputes.
To sweeten the deal for Greenlanders, some, including former deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff of the White House National Security Council (NSC), Alexander Gray, have suggested establishing a sovereign wealth fund akin to the one established for citizens of Alaska, to ensure that the Greenlandic people directly benefit from a financial stake in any minerals or other resources extracted by American firms from the island.
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