Warning from EU summit over US military takeover of Greenland, plus awkward question about 'this occupation'
The European Union can help secure Greenland if Denmark requests it, European Defense and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on Monday, warning that the takeover of the Arctic island by the US military would mean the end of NATO, writes Reuters.
Trump has repeatedly stated, intensifying his rhetoric including in recent days, that the United States must hold Greenland, an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, to prevent Russia or China from occupying the strategically located and mineral-rich Arctic territory. The leader of the White House claims that the American military presence in this area is not enough.
Denmark and the US, both NATO members, are due to meet this week to discuss Greenland. Greenland and Denmark have said the Arctic island is not for sale, but Trump has not ruled out taking it by force.
“I agree with the Danish Prime Minister (Mette Frederiksen, nr) that it would be the end of NATO, but also for the population it would be a very, very negative thing,” said Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, for the quoted press agency, during a conference on security held in Sweden.
“Who will recognize this occupation?”
The senior European official said that taking over the island would have “a very profound negative impact on the population and on our transatlantic relations”.
Trump wrote on Monday in a message posted on his Truth Social social network: “I am the one who SAVED NATO!!!” without providing context or further details.
Kubilius stated that he does not believe there will be a US military invasion, but that Article 42.7 of the European Union Treaty obliges member states to come to the aid of Denmark if it faces military aggression.
“It will depend a lot on Denmark, how it reacts, what position it takes, but certainly there is such an obligation of member countries to come to each other's aid if another member state faces military aggression,” the European commissioner said.
Kubilius also questioned the rationale for occupying Greenland by force and warned that it would impact all aspects of relations between Europe and the United States.
“Who will recognize this occupation and what impact will it have on all relations between the United States and Europe, including, for example, on trade, where the Americans may also suffer quite painful negative consequences?” he added.
Kubilius also said the EU could provide more security to Greenland if Denmark requested it, including troops and military infrastructure such as warships and anti-drone capabilities.
“It is the job of the military to say what Greenland needs or the defense of the Arctic. Everything is possible,” the European commissioner said.
Military capabilities
Kubilius also insisted that Europe must strengthen its military capabilities, regardless of whether it can count on US help, but that any US withdrawal from NATO would be very difficult.
“It will be a very big challenge to be ready to defend Europe, to be independent, without the United States,” he said.
“The question would be how can we use the NATO structures in this case, how can they become, you know, a basis for the European pillar of NATO. But NATO, as it is now, will certainly not exist anymore,” the EU official warned.
Trump said last week in a virulent message that the US will always support NATO and that Russia and China fear the alliance only as long as the United States is a member.
The White House leader, however, claimed that he doubted that “NATO would be with us if we really needed them”, thus launching new criticism of the security alliance.
“We will always be with NATO, even if they are not with us,” wrote Trump, in the message published last Wednesday also on his social network, Truth Social, a day after the White House explicitly admitted that the US does not rule out a military intervention to take over Greenland from Denmark.
Many NATO member countries have substantially increased their military spending in recent years, following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Trump's demands that European allies invest more in their own defense.
Meanwhile, on Monday, NATO as an organization and Greenland announced their willingness to work together to strengthen the defense of this vast, self-governing Danish territory, hoping to dissuade the US president from taking control of the Arctic island at any cost.
