Donald Trump’s seemingly insatiable desire to continue activating springs in Europe: at least seven allied European countries – France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom – have responded to the call of Denmark, which wants to carry out military exercises on the island throughout the year. The partners have already sent to the gigantic island, which only has about 55,000 inhabitants, a first contingent – small, but highly symbolic – of troops or advance liaison officers, which will also be followed by military equipment.
The idea, Copenhagen has advanced, is that this international “reconnaissance” team, which could be joined by more countries, such as Spain, explores the possibility of creating a broader, longer and rotating military mission – ideally under NATO supervision – capable of containing, responding to their alleged security concerns in this strategic area of the Arctic. All of this would have the presence of troops from allied countries, although this first mission is not yet formally organized under the umbrella of the Alliance, of which the country that threatens Greenland is also a member: the United States.
Following the announcement by the Danish Ministry of Defense of an immediate increase in the Danish military presence on the island, since late Wednesday and throughout Thursday the contribution – for the moment symbolic – of more and more allied countries has become known. France has already sent fifteen soldiers specializing in high mountains. According to President Emmanuel Macron, reinforcements with “land, air and sea means” will soon follow – “the next few days” – he announced on Thursday during the traditional speech of good wishes to the Armed Forces at the Istres base (Bouches-du-Rhône). His words were very focused on the United States and its threats, although he did not mention the country explicitly.
“France must be available to assess the threat, know how to adapt. And be at the side of a sovereign State to protect its territory,” remarked the French president, who warned that there is “a new colonialism that is underway by some.” He also said that “Europeans must continue wherever their interests are threatened, being present without escalation, but inflexible in respecting territorial sovereignty.” “In Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Europeans have a particular responsibility. Because this territory belongs to the European Union and is that of one of our NATO allies,” he added.
The legal question of whether Greenland, which is an autonomous territory, is under the umbrella of the Alliance and/or the mutual defense clause of the EU treaties has been causing doubts in Brussels for days. The European Commission finally answered the question this Thursday: “Greenland is part of the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and, therefore, in principle, is covered by the mutual solidarity clause of article 42.7 of the EU Treaty. However, currently the question does not arise,” said the community spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Anitta Hipper.
Germany has also sent a first contingent of 13 members of the Bundeswehr, the federal Armed Forces, who will participate in this first “reconnaissance team” in Greenland that will seek to “explore the conditions for possible military contributions in support of Denmark to guarantee the security of the region, for example with respect to maritime surveillance capabilities.” In a statement, Germany specifically cites . But not those of the United States, but those of China and Russia, which “use the Arctic increasingly militarily and in this way question the freedom of traffic, communications and trade,” according to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
“Anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda”
The Russian Embassy in Brussels, where NATO has its headquarters, has issued a note in which it describes the Russian and Chinese threat to the Arctic as a “myth.” “We can see that the Alliance is using high-profile statements from Washington on the Greenland issue solely to promote an anti-Russian and anti-China agenda,” the statement said. “This exposes the artificiality of the hysteria that is being fomented,” continues the text, sent to the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
With the same objective of studying “options for a joint military exercise” in the Arctic region, the Netherlands has sent an officer from the Royal Navy. “Based on this recognition, the future military exercise will be planned and organized,” explained the Dutch Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans, in a statement, in which he added that as a “possible next step” what has been discussed behind closed doors for days could be realized: a broader mission already under the umbrella of NATO, under the name of Arctic Sentry, which however “will have to be more discussed” within the Alliance, said Brekelmans, who, however, expressed his country’s support for a surveillance operation of this type similar to those already carried out by NATO in other threatened regions.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has avoided speaking out in recent days about a conflict that is testing the transatlantic alliance, although next Monday he will receive – behind closed doors – the Danish Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, to learn about the situation after Wednesday at the White House, NATO sources confirm.
Similarly, Sweden has sent three officers and Norway two to Greenland, where a British military officer and two more Finns have also gone.
Send a “signal”
Although for now it is a small number of soldiers deployed, the idea, beyond exploring the possibilities of a broader mission, is to send a strong “signal,” Berlin and Paris have agreed.
The signal from the Europeans to Trump, with the military deployment, is twofold. They tell him, on the one hand, that he cannot attack an ally and that this ally is present in Greenland. On the other hand, they take the security of the Arctic seriously, contrary to what the American president claims. “It’s about surveillance, patrols, looking at what happens under water, on water and in the air,” Pistorius said, according to the newspaper. South German newspaper. “It’s about scouting and doing regular exercises on the ground to show we’re there.”
“It was said that Europe took its time, but not that much,” noted the French ambassador for the Poles and Oceans, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, on the Franceinfo network. It is about “showing the United States that NATO is present and that Denmark has considerably increased, both in means and financing, its surveillance capabilities,” agreed with Pistorius.
These first gestures have been welcomed by Denmark: “I want to thank the fact that a number of allied countries are contributing these days to the joint maneuvers in and around Greenland,” declared Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “The defense and protection of Greenland is a common issue for all of NATO,” he stressed.
More European forces, including Spanish, could join the international contingent already present or on the way. , although he asked “not to advance events” until a firm decision is made.
“Strengthening surveillance in Greenland would be an option, but let’s see over the course of today and tomorrow morning. I think we should not rush events,” said Robles this Thursday, who the day before had also criticized the EU’s “lukewarmness” in the face of Trump’s threats.
Belgium also declared itself ready and “waiting” for a formal request from Copenhagen. “We are in stand-by“We are already studying what type of support we could provide (…) but we are waiting for a request and a possible government agreement,” he told the newspaper. The evening a spokesperson for the Minister of Defense, the Flemish nationalist Theo Francken.
