It says a lot that the stunning capture of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro is, for European leaders, only Donald Trump’s second-most alarming act this week. More concerning are his renewed assertions that the US “needs” Greenland — which, like Venezuela, is part of the western hemisphere that Trump’s America claims as its own. Whether for security, access to the Arctic or mineral deposits, the US president clearly covets the world’s largest non-continental island. The White House said on Tuesday that it was exploring ways of acquiring Greenland, and “utilising the US military is always an option”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told lawmakers the US goal was not to invade but to buy the island from Denmark, of which Greenland is a self-governing territory. Trump tried this in his first term. Yet even this approach harks back to the 19th century. Any “deal” on Greenland’s future should reflect the wishes of its 57,000 people, free from interference and certainly not under the threat of US force.
Trump’s Greenland ambitions are an acute concern for European leaders. Opposing him is perilous given their dependence on America for trade and security — including support for Ukraine, the front line of Europe’s stand-off with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. As Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen has rightly noted, any US move on Greenland would spell the end of Nato. It might also split the EU.