Greenland disaster: Europe wants the US, but it surely additionally wants to face as much as Trump | Greenland

The disaster over Greenland might ship the second when Europe should stand as much as Donald Trump, as officers have mentioned a US try and annex the territory may shatter the Nato transatlantic alliance.

European leaders have entertained Trump’s calls for for practically a 12 months as he has pushed Nato nations to extend their defence spending to five% of GDP, and threatened to drag US assist from Ukraine as a part of a peace course of that seems to favour Russia. They’ve additionally given a muted response to US adventurism overseas together with the seize and rendition of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

The obsequiousness has typically performed out in public. Numerous European leaders have vied for the function of “Trump whisperer” and Nato’s secretary basic, Mark Rutte, infamously referred to him as “daddy” at a summit final June.

However Trump’s’ repeated and more and more bellicose calls for that Denmark cede or promote him semi-autonomous Greenland has sparked one of many best crises for transatlantic partnership in its historical past – and will power Europe to attract a line within the snow.

“The president’s ambition is on the desk,” the Danish overseas minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen instructed Fox Information after the talks. “In fact we’ve got our pink traces. That is 2026, you commerce with individuals however you don’t commerce individuals.”

After an hour-long meeting with the US vice-president, JD Vance, and secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Rasmussen and Greenland’s overseas minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, stood grim-faced smoking cigarettes outdoors of the Eisenhower govt constructing in Washington DC.

“With regards to Greenland, the Europeans have discovered a pink line that they actually need to stand by,” mentioned Kristine Berzina, a senior fellow on the German Marshall Fund for US defence and transatlantic safety.

“Every thing else has been topic to negotiation … however the Greenland state of affairs is completely different as a result of it involves the query of sovereignty, and it involves the query of whether or not Europe is able to standing up for itself when it comes to its personal territory, its personal rights.”

Europe, nevertheless, was at a “diplomatic drawback” due to its dependency on the US for safety, mentioned Latvia’s former prime minister Krišjanis Kariņš.

“Europe just isn’t, sadly, in a powerful place to strongly object, as a result of, say, if Europe had been to open up the dispute into the commerce space, I’m sure that the US would reply in variety or greater than in variety,” he mentioned. “On the finish of the day, Europe nonetheless wants the US.”

The pressure on officers from Denmark and Greenland has been huge. A day after assembly US officers, a visibly emotional Motzfeldt mentioned she had been overwhelmed by the previous couple of days of negotiations.

“Denmark has actually solely been a very good ally to the US,” mentioned Marisol Maddox, a senior fellow at Dartmouth College’s Arctic research institute. “In order that’s additionally part of what makes this so extraordinary, is that this was like going as much as your greatest buddy and simply randomly slapping them within the face … There’s nothing to impress this.”

Trump’s curiosity in buying the island has solely grown since his longtime buddy Ronald Lauder, the inheritor to the Estée Lauder cosmetics firm, first suggested it to him in 2019. The White Home has mentioned its primary concern is nationwide safety, however Trump has admitted that ego performs a key function as effectively. He instructed the New York Occasions final week that proudly owning Greenland was “what I really feel is psychologically wanted for achievement”. On Friday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on nations that don’t “go alongside” along with his ambition to annex Greenland.

Others in his administration – notably Vance – have seen the obsession over Greenland as a chance to choose one other combat with European allies, and European diplomats noticed his determination to hitch the negotiations as a destructive signal.

Vance “is particularly having fun with this”, one mentioned. “It’s clear why he’s gotten concerned and it’ll make the talks extra emotional.” Politico reported that 10 ministers and officers polled on his involvement didn’t regard him as an ally on Greenland or different transatlantic issues.

Europe has responded by in search of to chop the legs out from underneath the Trump administration’s argument that Greenland is underprotected from a possible Russian or Chinese language assault. A small French navy contingent arrived on the island on Thursday as a part of a restricted deployment together with troops from Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK.

“The defence and safety of Greenland is a typical concern for your complete Nato alliance,” mentioned Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen. Rasmussen and Motzfeldt are scheduled to fulfill Rutte for talks on Monday.

By deploying troops and property, Kariņš mentioned European leaders may take away a pretext of the Trump administration for annexing the territory, referring to arguments that it was not shielded from Russian and Chinese language aggression.