There is no evidence that “foreign adversaries” are targeting Greenland or that the island requires rapid investments to deploy troops there, the EU’s transport commissioner has said.
European NATO members pushed back this month against renewed remarks by US President Donald Trump about acquiring Greenland.
Trump has argued that Denmark is too weak to defend the island from a Russian or Chinese attack – which Copenhagen has dismissed as implausible. The US president did not initially rule out the use of force.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte later sought to defuse the dispute, stressing that Arctic security concerns should be addressed through NATO’s collective defense arrangements rather than a change in Greenland’s status.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Washington is “well aware” that neither Russia nor China has plans regarding the island. Beijing dismissed the claims as a pretext for expanding the US presence in the Arctic.
”Today, we don’t have intelligence showing us that the island of Greenland is targeted for invasion by foreign third powers,” Apostolos Tzitzikostas said in an interview with Euractiv, adding that he does not consider the Arctic to be a hotspot at this point.
Tzitzikostas also pushed back against claims that Chinese investments in European infrastructure pose a security risk, arguing that foreign participation in these projects is commonplace across the bloc and does not, on its own, amount to a threat.
Chinese companies have explored mining investments on the island, though several projects have been blocked or curtailed by the Danish authorities. Moscow has dismissed claims that it has any interest in Greenland.
Recent Western assessments have also played down claims of an imminent threat to Greenland. A Reuters analysis published this month said that while Russia has expanded its presence elsewhere in the Arctic and China has pursued economic interests in the region, there is no indication that either country is targeting Greenland.
The European Commission has floated an Arctic security package, with President Ursula von der Leyen suggesting new spending to strengthen the EU’s presence in the region, including the purchase of an icebreaker.
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