Greenland dispute pressures Europe to confront Trump over transatlantic ties

The crisis over Greenland may force Europe to stand up to Donald Trump, officials have said, after a US attempt to annex the territory was described as a threat that could shatter the Nato transatlantic alliance. European leaders have for months accommodated Trump’s demands — including pushes for Nato members to raise defence spending and warnings about withdrawing US support for Ukraine — and have given muted responses to other US actions abroad, the report said.

His repeated demands that Denmark cede or sell semi‑autonomous Greenland have sparked a major transatlantic rupture: Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told Fox News, “Of course we have our red lines. This is 2026, you trade with people but you don’t trade people.” Rasmussen and Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, met the US vice‑president, JD Vance, and secretary of state, Marco Rubio; after the hour‑long meeting they were seen smoking outside the Eisenhower executive building.

Observers including Kristine Berzina of the German Marshall Fund said the issue touches questions of sovereignty and whether Europe can defend its territory, while Latvia’s former prime minister Krišjanis Kariņš warned Europe remained at a “diplomatic disadvantage” because of its security dependence on the US.

Key Topics

World, Greenland, Donald Trump, Nato, Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen