A group of European countries, led by the United Kingdom and Germany, are discussing plans to establish a military presence in Greenland as a way of showing United States President Donald Trump that the continent takes Arctic security seriously and trying to counter American threats to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.
Germany intends to propose the creation of a joint NATO mission to protect the Arctic region, according to people familiar with the plans. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in turn, has been pressing allies to reinforce the security presence in the far north and recently reached out to leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss the issue.
The US operation to capture Venezuela’s leader this month, coupled with increased rhetoric from the Trump administration about the possibility of using military force to control Greenland, led European leaders to hastily put together a strategy. They want to demonstrate that Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have the region’s security under control, while trying to weaken Trump’s case for taking over Greenland, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will meet this week with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when he is expected to discuss the issue of Greenland and the role that NATO can play in the stability of the region.
“As security in the Arctic is becoming increasingly important, I also want to discuss, on my trip, how we can better assume this responsibility in NATO — in light of old and new rivalries in the region, on the part of Russia and China — together,” Wadephul said in a statement released on Sunday. “We want to discuss this jointly within NATO.”
While Trump has long talked about making Greenland part of the U.S. for national security reasons, his focus on the autonomous island has intensified in recent days following the U.S. operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
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The move reignited fears among allies about Trump’s willingness to turn to the military to achieve his foreign policy goals. The fiery rhetoric over Greenland has triggered intense diplomatic activity as officials try to better understand the president’s intentions.
Trump claimed on Sunday night that the US will “own” Greenland.
“We’re talking about acquiring, not leasing, not short-term ownership, we’re talking about acquiring, and if we don’t do it, Russia or China will — and that’s not going to happen while I’m president,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from Florida.
Trump acknowledged that the US already has a large military base in Greenland. He said he could beef up the facility, but added that “we need to own the property. You really need the title, as they say in real estate.”
Germany should propose the creation of a NATO mission called “Arctic Sentry” to guarantee the security of the region, according to the sources. The alliance’s “Baltic Sentry” mission, launched a year ago to protect critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, would serve as a model.
According to people familiar with the matter, Starmer assesses that the best path forward for the UK and Europe is to convince Trump of the value they offer, in terms of soft power and military power, to US interests — from Russia’s war in Ukraine to American security closer to home. This stance contrasts with the more critical line publicly adopted by countries such as France, which this week warned that Europe is under threat of coercion from the US.
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Starmer spoke to Trump last week and “discussed Euro-Atlantic security, agreeing on the need to deter an increasingly aggressive Russia in the High North,” Downing Street said. “NATO needs to increase its presence in the region,” Starmer told Macron and Merz.
For now, Denmark is still betting that a diplomatic trip to Washington next week could help calm Trump. Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt aim to challenge what Copenhagen describes as persistent errors of fact and exaggerated security claims that have been fueling the debate.
Although the president has said that he does not rule out the use of military force to acquire the Arctic island, Rubio told parliamentarians on Tuesday night that the objective is to buy Greenland, and not to promote an intervention that could test the future of NATO.
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“The legitimate interests of all NATO allies, but also those of the region’s inhabitants, must be at the center of our considerations,” said Wadephul. “Of course, this is also true for Greenland and its people.”
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