Something is changing in Europe. Finally, speeches are giving way to actions. The decision to send troops to Greenland, by different countries of the European Union, is a change in political position in the face of Donald Trump’s expansionist ambitions over Danish territory. France, Germany, Sweden and Norway, among other countries, have already begun to send soldiers to Greenland to plan their participation in Operation Arctic Endurance. The Danish Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, commented this Thursday that the intention is to “establish a permanent military presence” on the island, in addition to having Danish troops and other European countries carry out military exercises in the area.
“The American ambition to seize Greenland remains intact.” With these words, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, summarized the vain attempt of her diplomatic team to reach an agreement that would lower Trump’s intentions after meeting in Washington this Wednesday with the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the Vice President, JD Vance.
“Until now, the approach of European countries in these discussions assumed that Trump is interested in strengthening the collective security of NATO allies, when the doctrine ‘America First’ The president’s focus is on achieving benefits for the United States, above all else. And for Trump, only by possessing the territory can the US government ensure that its economic benefits accrue to US companies and the US balance sheet,” argues Sir Robin Niblett, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Although the Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, noted this Thursday that “dialogue and diplomacy are the right way forward,” he also recognized that the “security situation is serious and the geopolitical interests in our region are significant.” European countries are moving to try to resolve a crisis between NATO partners based on an alleged security problem in the Arctic, but which also has to do with the geoeconomic struggle for natural resources.
Justina Budginaite-Froehly, a researcher at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, emphasizes that “it is unlikely that the US president will be slowed down by conferences on international law.” “But it does respond to force, clear messaging, and facts on the ground. A Europe that treats Greenland as central to its own security, rather than as a burden to be justified, can shift the Trump Administration’s fixation on acquiring Greenland to cooperating on Greenland’s security.”
“The destabilizing forces have awakened”
In this sense, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, said this Thursday in his annual speech to the Army: “We live in a world where destabilizing forces have awakened. Certainties that sometimes lasted decades are being questioned with competitors that [Europa] he never thought he would see.” Macron added that “peace is threatened” at a global level and that “France and Europeans must remain present wherever their interests are threatened.”
The French president has confirmed that there are already 15 French soldiers in Greenland preparing the ground for more reinforcements to arrive. France hopes to open a consulate in this Danish territory on February 6.
Germany’s Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, has been more conciliatory with the US. Germany has sent 13 soldiers as a first contingent to Greenland. Pistorius has taken on Trump’s theory that Russia and China were increasingly using the Arctic for military purposes. “What is decisive for me is that in our joint reconnaissance activities in Greenland under Danish leadership within NATO we are working very closely, especially with our American partners,” added the German minister.
When Trump says the US needs Greenland for security, what he really means is that he wants the US to control Greenland’s extensive rare earth deposits.
Sir Robin Niblett
— Center for Strategic and International Studies
Diplomatic sources assured the Financial Times that the idea was to show the United States that Denmark and other countries were serious about security in the Arctic, not to respond to Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland.
At the moment, in addition to the French and German soldiers who have arrived in Greenland to coordinate Operation Arctic Endurance, the United Kingdom has sent an officer; Norway, two soldiers; Netherlands, to a military man; Estonia and Sweden have announced the sending of troops but have not yet confirmed how many will go to the Danish island. Spain has not ruled out participation in the military operation, but, at the time of going to press, it had not confirmed its position. Poland, one of the European countries whose president is one of Trump’s clearest allies, has announced that it will not send troops to the island.
The arrival of European troops in Greenlandic territory has put Moscow on alert. The Russian embassy in Belgium released a statement this Wednesday warning that “the situation that is developing in high latitudes seriously worries us.” According to Moscow, “NATO is increasing its military presence there under the false pretext of a growing threat from Moscow and Beijing.”
More disappointing was once again the speech of the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen. Although she announced in Cyprus that “a new security strategy for Europe” will be developed, without going into details, and that “security in the Arctic is a central issue for the EU,” Von der Leyen pointed out that “what is clear is that Greenland can count on us politically, economically and financially,” but “when it comes to discussions about security in the Arctic, they are a NATO issue.” The Secretary General of NATO, the Dutch Mark Rutte, has avoided launching any criticism against Trump for his intentions to take over Greenland.
“The president who made the best real estate deal for the US”
“When Trump says the United States needs Greenland for its security, what he really means is that he wants the US to control Greenland’s extensive, though mostly untapped and extremely difficult to extract, rare earth deposits and vast reserves of copper, graphite, nickel, titanium, zinc and gold. Trump wants to go down in history as the president who made the best real estate deal for the United States since Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867, adding trillions to the net wealth of United States,” argues Sir Robin Niblett.
Just a month ago, on the occasion of the congress of the Christian Social Union (CSU), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gave a speech where he acknowledged that “the decades of the ‘Pax Americana’ have in fact ended.” “For us in Europe and Germany, it no longer exists as we knew it. Nostalgia is of no use. I would be one of the first to abandon myself to that nostalgia. But it is useless, it is like this: the Americans defend their interests very harshly and there can be no other response on our part than to also defend our interests.”
In this sense, Andrea Ott, professor of Law and EU Foreign Relations at Maastricht University, points out that the EU “has to achieve a broader European consensus, not only with the United Kingdom but also with other like-minded European countries, to have a common line on how to defend its interests, which are different from those of the great powers, the United States, China and Russia.” “Greenland should be recognized by both Denmark and the EU as a strategic priority and focus on securing the island as part of the EU’s sphere of interest.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
