Infinite and omnipotent. Donald Trump wants (and can) achieve anything. It jumps from Venezuela to Iran, passing through Ukraine and even Greenland. At this point no one escapes that. His threats, his bravado and his mockery seemed to have no restraint, but in recent hours voices are emerging that, at least, seem to want to confront him. And between them the European Union tries to be.
The reality is that Brussels is late and slowbut in his own way he tries to react and have his own voice in a matter that affects him, a way of working similar to what happens with Ukraine. But unlike kyiv, the local prime minister recalled that “Greenland is Denmark.”
Since Trump reactivated his conquering rhetoric about Greenland, there have been reactions, criticisms and international warnings. As a group, several of Europe’s heavyweights have wanted to put their foot on the wall. They are, that They joined in a statement to rule that “Greenland belongs to its people. It is solely up to Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters that concern Denmark and Greenland.”
Next to them the United Kingdom signature appears and this is a relevant element. Because the reaction of international rejection It is done not under the umbrella of the EU, but of NATOthe Atlantic alliance that directly relates them to the United States.
On another level of echo, the European Parliament has condemned this Wednesday what he calls “fragrant challenge” to International Law by the USby a clear majority but without the support of the ultra forces. An “intolerable” attitude that requires internal action, they point out.
Both Brussels and Strasbourg, the two capitals of the EU, are supported by the principle that “the security of the Arctic is a strategic priority for the European Union” and its defense is a key task for the Twenty-seven and their institutions. The European Parliament went further in its text by pointing out that safeguarding the EU’s Arctic strategy “goes beyond mere security concerns.”
This commitment has been emphasized by the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen this Thursday, bragging about having “accelerated our work” between the EU and Greenlandwith the recent opening of an office in the capital, Nuuk, or investments in the territory. “There is a strong and good relationship that exists,” he added.
But back in ‘Strasbourg’, in its statement, the European Parliament addressed Von der Leyen’s own European Commission and the European Council to demand that they define “concrete and tangible support.” Let them do something, go.
The demand for action has also been launched the Government of Spain. The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has been which has verbalized that “Spain understands that that leadership has to be present“, censuring that the bloc “has remained silent in the face of the possible invasion of Greenland.” For the head of Defense, “the EU cannot be a secondary actor at allthe EU has a political, security and defense content that perhaps has not been sufficiently developed until now.
It is not the only criticism within the Spanish Executive. The second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has recriminated the “absolutely non-existent” attitude of the EU in the face of Trump’s “deliberate position of aggression” towards the continent. In an interview on TVE, he went further, pointing out that the head of the EU has already suffered the “humiliating” image that the US leader ‘imposed’ on him during the crisis over tariffs.
In this regard, the ‘leader of the European Executive’ alleges that The EU maintains “a constant and close communication channel” with the Greenlanders and also with the Government of Denmark to “listen to what your needs are“.
42.7: the ‘legal weapon’ of the EU that Von der Leyen for now does not even want to mention
There is a lot of talk about Article 5 of NATO, which guarantees defense as a bloc if one of its members is attacked. But the European Union also has its particular legal ‘trump’ to ensure a potential collective response in the face of external aggression. It’s about and this is what it says:
- If a Member State is the object of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall help and assist it with all the means at their disposal, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. This is without prejudice to the specific nature of the security and defense policy of certain Member States.
- Commitments and cooperation in this area will continue to comply with the commitments acquired within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which will continue to be, for the Member States that are part of it, the foundation of their collective defense and the body for its execution.
For Ursula von der Leyen today those are big words and she prefers not to mention it. In fact, he believes that “It’s not an applicable question now.“, as he responded this Thursday to journalists who questioned him about the role of the EU in the event of a US attack on Greenlandic territory. He did leave an extra nuance, remembering that “beyond speculation, Greenland is part of NATO.”
“It is important that Greenlanders know, and they know this by deed, not just by words, that we respect their wishes and their interests and who can count on us“, he concluded in this regard, without revealing whether the EU would truly enter into a direct response.
