Germany European countries back Greenland
The major European partners have declared their support for the Arctic island and Denmark in the dispute over Greenland fueled by US President Donald Trump. Only Denmark and Greenland would decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland, according to a statement signed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "Greenland belongs to its people."
06.01.2026, 12:59
SDA
The signatories, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, emphasized the great importance of the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders set out in the UN Charter.
USA not backing down from its claim
In recent days, Trump had reiterated the alleged US claim to the Arctic island. He said that the USA needed Greenland for its national security. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but is largely autonomous. Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller recently described the US claim to control Greenland as the "official position of the US government".
The European states of Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, the UK and Denmark emphasized in their statement that the Kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland, is "part of NATO". Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved together. The USA is "an essential partner", both as a NATO ally and as part of the 1951 defense agreement between Denmark and the United States.
Denmark's head of government Frederiksen had previously stated: "If the USA attacks another NATO country, then everything stops." That would be the end of the Western defense alliance and thus also the security architecture that has existed since the end of the Second World War. The Danish parties convened a crisis meeting in parliament.
