European leaders back Denmark after Trump revives Greenland remarks

People march to protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, on March 29, 2025. Hundreds of demonstrators in Denmark's capital Copenhagen and the city of Aarhus voiced strong opposition on Saturday to recent remarks and actions by the U.S. administration regarding Greenland. (Photo by Liu Zhichao/Xinhua)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the United States has no right to annex Greenland and urged Washington to stop making threats against a close ally.

BRUSSELS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- European leaders have rallied behind Denmark after U.S. President Donald Trump again floated the idea of acquiring Greenland and called the Arctic territory critical to U.S. defense.

"We do need Greenland, absolutely," Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic on Sunday. His comments came after American military action in Venezuela, heightening concerns in Europe that Greenland could be the next target of U.S. intervention.

The remarks drew swift condemnation from Greenland and Denmark. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the United States has no right to annex Greenland and urged Washington to stop making threats against a close ally. Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called the U.S. rhetoric "completely and utterly unacceptable."

Nordic leaders were among the first to respond. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told public broadcaster NRK that "One must respect countries' sovereignty." Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson both stressed that decisions about Greenland rest solely with Denmark and Greenland, voicing their full support for their neighbor.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen attends the European Union (EU) special summit in Brussels, Belgium, March 6, 2025. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

On Monday, Frederiksen escalated her warning, telling Danish broadcaster TV2 that a U.S. takeover of Greenland would effectively end the NATO military alliance. "If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops," she said, referring to the collective security framework established after the Second World War.

More European countries echoed the position. Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger wrote on X: "Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark has made it unequivocally clear: Threats and annexation fantasies are not acceptable."

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said, "Borders cannot be changed by force," expressing "solidarity" with Denmark in an interview with the French public television channel TF1.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC that "the future of Greenland is for the Kingdom of Denmark and for Greenland themselves," while stressing Denmark's status as a NATO member.

This photo taken on March 20, 2025 shows the scenery of Nuuk, Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul noted that Greenland, as part of Denmark, would in principle fall under NATO's collective defense obligations.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani urged the European Union (EU) to take a firm stance. "We'll see what Donald Trump's real intentions are on Greenland," he told Italian media RTL 102.5, adding that the EU must guarantee the independence of a territory under the Danish Crown.

At the EU level, European Commission spokesperson Anita Hipper said during a daily briefing that the bloc will continue to "uphold the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity, the inviolability of borders and the UN Charter."

People march to protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, on March 29, 2025. Hundreds of demonstrators in Denmark's capital Copenhagen and the city of Aarhus voiced strong opposition on Saturday to recent remarks and actions by the U.S. administration regarding Greenland. (Photo by Liu Zhichao/Xinhua)