Facing Trump’s interest in Greenland, Denmark will increase the military spending in Arctic

Deeply rattled by President Trump’s insistence on the fact that he wants to acquire Greenland, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen from Denmark met European and NATO leaders on a whirlwind on Tuesday, traveling to Berlin, Paris and Brussels to get public support and discuss how best to best respond to sudden demands of one of Denmark’s closest allies.

The Danes seek allied solidarity while at the same time calling for their European partners in both the European Union and NATO not to initiate the situation and make things worse before Trump’s strategy becomes clear if he has formulated one.

“Frederiksen does not want to enter a one-on-one match with Donald Trump because she wants to lose,” said Ulrik Pram Grad of the Danish Institute of International Studies. “She is trying to get colleagues to commit to the fact that this is not only her problem but a problem for Europe whose customs are imposed” – with reference to Mr. Trump’s threat of duty if he doesn’t get his way – ”and a problem for NATO if an ally threatens to remove another sovereign territory. “

On Monday, just before Mrs. Frederiksen traveled on her journey, her government announced that it would increase military spending in the northern Atlantic with equivalent to $ 2 billion. The new expenses are planned for some time, but its message seemed to have moved up in response to Mr. Trump, said Mr. Degree.

Just a few days into his second period, Mr. Trump that he wanted the United States to take control of Greenland as “an absolute necessity” for Western security and refused to exclude to use military or financial strength to do so.

If Mr. Trump uses tariffs to push Denmark, the European Union could respond with countertops or even use a special one ‘Anti-Cercion Instrument ” Adopted in 2023, offering a number of countermeasures. But these are meant as a deterrent, and Denmark and Europeans prefer a lot of a kind of agreement with Mr. Trump – although a short abandoning sovereignty. Many European officials already compare Mr. Trump’s demands on how President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has insisted that Ukraine surrenders Crimea and four other regions.

The European Union is divided in itself, said Fabian Zuleg, CEO of the European Political Center in Brussels. “There will be some countries that will support Trump no matter what, considering their ideologies and some joy about how liberal democracies are under pressure,” he said. The Danish Prime Minister’s tour was more about “performing support among like -minded countries” and in NATO itself.

So far, Mr. Trump’s threats only words, Mr. Zuleg. “But Europe is vulnerable because the ultimate threat to our heads is the withdrawal of the American security guarantee,” which is more important than the interests of a country, he said. “So I suppose there should be an effort to give the United States something, some of the financial interests behind this extreme request, but not so far as to transfer Greenland to America.”

As for NATO, he said, “This will undermine the alliance because it is simply not an acceptable way to interact with allies, and it will poison the well on other questions.”

But Washington remains a dominant actor. “How do you discourage the United States of America, your most important security provider?” Asked Leslie Vinjamuri, who leads the US and the Americas program at Chatham House in London.

Frederiksen and her government have already offered the United States the chance to work together to improve the security of Greenland. The new expenses announced on Monday include three new Arctic naval vessels for patrolling waters around Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and two more long -range drones and satellites to improve the monitoring of the area, according to the government’s statement announcing spending. There will also be training for young Greenlanders “to take responsibility for readiness,” the statement states.

“We must face the fact that there are serious challenges in terms of security and defense in the Arctic and the North Atlantic,” said Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish Minister of Defense, in the statement.

But under existing agreements from 1951, like Mr. Degree of the Danish Institute pointed out, the United States has “almost full military sovereignty over Greenland”, where it already has a large military base. All Washington has to do to take some kind of action is to consult with Denmark and Greenland, which would have no reason to object, he said.

On Saturday, the chairman of the European Union’s military committee, General Robert Broger, the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag said that “it would make perfect sense not only to station US forces in Greenland, as is currently the case, but also to consider stationing of EU soldiers there. “

For NATO, there is a legitimate strategic question of Greenland for allies to discuss, said Camille Grand, a former senior NATO official now with the European Council on foreign relations.

“But the Danes are America’s best allies who suffered serious losses in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting with the United States and they buy American,” he said. “It’s hard to find a more transatlantic country in Europe. So why do the Danes bully? It looks like Crimea. You will say that Putin’s behavior is unacceptable and people will say, ‘What about Greenland?’ “

Greenland, a gigantic island in the northern Atlantic, which is a semi -union territory in Denmark, has taken strategic importance in recent years as Arctic ice melts, opens launching courses for international business, warships and submarines. With about 60,000 inhabitants, Greenland has home rule, but Denmark is responsible for its foreign and defense policy.

Greenland has a strong independence movement that is likely to take the heart of Mr. Trump’s challenge to Denmark, but there is no indication that Greenlanders then wants to hand over their independence to Washington. But an independent Greenland is likely to have a strong defense and the financial relationship with the United States.

“As a government, our job is not to panic and find out what the actual requirements are,” Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s Minister of Trade and Justice, told Agence France press. “If it is about military presence, the United States has been here for 80 years; We are not against it. If it’s about minerals, it’s an open market, ”she said, referring to the abundant natural resources in Greenland.

But “If it’s about expansionism,” she said, “We are a democracy, we are allies and we ask our allies to respect our institutions.”

During the weekend, Mrs. Frederiksen met with her Nordic allies – the leaders of Finland, Sweden and Norway. All of them she said, “Shared the gravity of the situation.”

In Berlin on Tuesday, after his meeting with Mrs. Frederiksen, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany spoke of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said in German that “borders must not be moved by force,” then said in English: “To whom it may worry. “He emphasized that” Denmark and Germany are close friends. “

In Paris, Mrs. Frederiksen met President Emmanuel Macron from France and later went to Brussels to meet Mark Rutte, the Secretary General.

“The clear message from friends in the Nordic countries and Europe, and also outside Europe, is that of course there must be respect for territories and the sovereignty of the state,” Frederiksen told the Danish TV company TV2. “This is crucial to the international community we have built together since World War II.”

Her Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen had tougher words on Tuesday.

“Trump doesn’t want Greenland,” he said. “Greenland is Greenland. And the Greenlandic people are a people, also in the sense of international law. “He added,” this is also the reason why we have repeatedly said that it is ultimately Greenland that decides Greenland’s situation. “

Maya Tekeli contributed with reporting from Copenhagen.