The European Union has insisted on Denmark’s territorial integrity after US President Donald Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland who said he would be honoured to make the island "a part of the US". Denmark has summoned the US ambassador over the appointment as Trump reiterated the US “needs” Greenland for its national security.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Monday he would summon US Ambassador Kenneth Howery after Trump named Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland.
Landry responded to the appointment in a post on X saying “it’s an honour to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US."
Greenland belongs to Greenlanders
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement that Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, belongs to Greenlanders.
”We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law,” they said. “They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.”
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa also insisted that territorial integrity and sovereignty were "fundamental principles of international law".
"These principles are essential not only for the European Union but for nations around the world. We stand in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland," they wrote on X.
US national security
Trump has repeatedly argued for Greenland to become part of the United States, and has not ruled out using military force to take control.
His arguments have been the island’s strategic importance and its mineral resources, including rare earth deposits that could become easier to access as the polar ice melts and new shipping routes emerge.
On Monday Trump reasserted that the US needs Greenland “for national security, not for minerals”.
“If you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need it for national security. We have to have it," Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Florida.
Greenland’s position between Europe and North America makes it a key site for the US ballistic missile defence system, which is housed at the US military base in Pituffik, under an agreement with Denmark.
Denmark easing tensions
Under a 2009 agreement, Greenland has the right to declare independence from Denmark. But while most of the island’s 57,000 people want to become independent, they do not wish to become part of the US , according to an opinion poll in January.
In a Facebook post addressed to Greenlanders, Nielsen said the appointment of a US special envoy had not changed anything for Greenlanders.
"We will determine our future ourselves. Greenland is our country," he wrote.
Greenland remains dependent on Danish subsidies, and relations with its former colonial ruler have been strained, though Denmark has sought to repair them over the past year while also trying to ease tensions with the Trump administration by investing in Arctic defence.
The Trump administration put further pressure on Copenhagen on Monday when it suspended leases for five large offshore wind projects being built off the East Coast of the US, including two being developed by Denmark's state-controlled Orsted.
(with newswires)
