The European Union’s foreign policy spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, has officially affirmed the bloc’s commitment to defending the territorial integrity of its members, entering the Greenland controversy with a clear statement opposing President Trump’s annexation ambitions. Hipper’s declaration represents the EU’s institutional position supporting Denmark against American pressure to acquire the strategically vital Arctic territory.
The EU statement adds supranational authority to the growing chorus of individual European nations supporting Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland. Britain, France, Finland, Sweden, and Norway have all issued declarations affirming that only Greenland and Denmark possess authority to determine the territory’s future status. This remarkable European unity represents a significant diplomatic challenge to Trump’s territorial designs.
President Trump has repeatedly argued that the United States needs Greenland for national security purposes, claiming Denmark cannot adequately protect the autonomous territory from Russian and Chinese threats. Greenland occupies the shortest missile route between the United States and Russia, hosts an American military base, and possesses vast untapped rare earth mineral deposits. Trump indicated he would prioritize the Greenland issue within two months while suggesting discussions could begin in approximately three weeks.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued an unprecedented warning that any US military action against Greenland would completely destroy NATO and eighty years of transatlantic security cooperation. Her stark ultimatum came after Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela, where American forces seized President Nicolas Maduro and announced indefinite US control over the nation’s oil resources. This aggressive precedent has intensified European concerns about Trump’s willingness to use military force.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen publicly confronted Trump’s pressure campaign, demanding cessation of annexation rhetoric and veiled threats while maintaining openness to dialogue through proper diplomatic channels respecting international law. The crisis escalated when Katie Miller, wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, posted imagery depicting Greenland in American flag colors, which Nielsen condemned as disrespectful. Trump’s justification citing Chinese and Russian naval activity near Greenland was rejected by Beijing and dismissed by Greenland’s parliamentary representative as fabrications designed to legitimize American territorial expansion in the Arctic region.