Donald Trump has, in fact, made no secret of his desire to appropriate the Arctic island, rich in minerals, whether in the form of purchase or agreement with Denmark and Greenland or by the use of force. Over the course of repeated public remarks by the Trump administration on the subject of Greenland over the past two weeks, the idea, long considered unrealistic, of a takeover by force is no longer ruled out.
If, during the Cold War, the United States had several thousand soldiers there, it now only maintains a single base of 150 to 200 people, the Pituffik Space Base, under an agreement with Denmark. The American military threat is therefore not imminent.
Which does not prevent the European members of NATO from taking it seriously. A European military mission thus started on Thursday in the autonomous Danish territory. A traditional ally of the Americans within NATO, Denmark has announced that it is strengthening its military presence there.
In the process, France, Sweden, Germany and Norway, joined by the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom, announced the sending of military personnel for a reconnaissance mission which is part of the Danish “Arctic Endurance” exercise. These modest-sized European military reinforcements must prepare the participation of these armies in future exercises in the Arctic, explain defense sources from several countries.
Formerly national security advisor to former Vice-President Kamala Harris, Philip Gordon, now an expert in the Brookings Institution think tank, welcomes this mobilization. “I think the Europeans are wise to increase the presence of their forces in Greenland and to make clear that the United States would pay a high price for annexation by force, he explains. Obviously, Europe couldn’t defend the island militarily if Trump was determined to take it, but I don’t think killing Europeans to take over Greenland would be a popular move here, even among his own supporters. There is very little support in the country for this unnecessary distraction. »
“We will continue our work on Arctic security with our allies, our partners, including the United States”for her part, declared the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. However, she did not answer the question of whether Greenland, since it depends on the Kingdom of Denmark, benefits from Article 42.7 of the Treaty on the European Union (EU), under which the Member States guarantee mutual assistance. The best protection for Greenland would undoubtedly be to join the EU, which it left in 1985.
“Polls show that the EU is increasingly popular in Greenland”says a Commission source at Monde. “If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO, the Kingdom of Denmark and the European Union »Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Wednesday.
In Nuuk, the Greenland flag, composed of a red semi-circle on a white background and a white semi-circle on a red background, began – unusually until now – to be displayed in building windows.
