Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said last night’s high-profile meeting with US representatives was “not easy,” warning that “there is a fundamental disagreement” over “the American ambition to take over Greenland” (12:07).
Frederiksen said Greenland’s defence was a “common concern” for the whole of Nato, as troops started arriving from across Europe as a result of Donald Trump’s threats to take the Arctic island by force (10:11, 10:44, 12:02, 13:05, 14:39).
Greenlandic prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said “dialogue and diplomacy are the right way forward” on Greenland, as he reiterated that “Greenland is not for sale” and doesn’t want to be a part or governed by the US (13:42, 16:50).
The Danish parliament has just announced it would fly the Greenlandic flag, Erfalasorput, on Friday to mark its support for the people of the semi-autonomous territory ahead of planned meetings between Danish, Greenlandic and US parliamentarians (15:15).
Separately, French president Emmanuel Macron has warned that “we live in a world where destabilising forces have awakened,” as he worried about “certainties that sometimes lasted for decades being called into question” and the standoff over Greenland (13:00, 13:05, 13:17)
Meanwhile, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has promised a new security strategy for Europe, as part of its broader response against a backdrop of US threats to annex Greenland (17:15).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
EU to work on new security strategy for Europe amid US threats to annex Greenland
Brussels correspondent
in Lemesos/Limassol, Cyprus
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has promised a new security strategy for Europe, against a backdrop of US threats to annex Greenland.
Speaking to reporters in Cyprus, Ursula von der Leyen described the US as a partner when asked about the situation in Greenland.
She said the EU was doubling down in its economic support for Greenland:
“What is clear is that Greenland can count on us politically, economically and financially. And when it comes to its security, the discussions on Arctic security are first and foremost, a core issue of Nato.”
Arctic and Arctic security, she added, were both core topics for the EU.
She declined to go into detail about what a European security strategy could entail, days after the EU’s defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius floated the idea of a European army.
“We are starting to work on a new European security strategy and at the beginning of the work it is not wise to limit or expand the different topics.”
