“Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations,” the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark said in a joint statement on Tuesday January 6, 2026.
“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up,” the statement said. “We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities, and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.”
“No member should attack or threaten another member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Otherwise, NATO would lose its meaning if conflict or mutual conflicts occurred within the alliance,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters in Warsaw.
The Netherlands fully supports the joint statement, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X.
Trump’s appetite in the western hemisphere appears insatiable, wrote The Economist. Just a day after snatching Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s strongman leader, Mr Trump set his sights on his next target: Greenland. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4th.
On Monday, January 5th, Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, brushed aside concerns about Danish sovereignty and international law and said Greenland should “obviously” be part of the US and he would not rule out the use of force to take control of the territory.
“The president has been clear for months now that the United States should be the nation that has Greenland as part of our overall security apparatus,” Miller said Monday on CNN. “The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?”
Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the US. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned on Monday that an attack by the US would spell the end of NATO.
Source:
Eli Stokols, Politico: Trump says his Greenland fixation is about national security. Europeans are skeptical. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/06/trump-says-his-greenland-fixation-is-about-national-security-europeans-are-skeptical-00712149
The Economist: Greenland could be next https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/01/05/after-venezuela-donald-trump-points-a-finger-at-greenland
Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Reuters: European leaders rally behind Greenland in face of renewed interest by Trump https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-european-leaders-rally-greenland-trump/
Paulin Kola, BBC: European allies back Denmark over Trump’s threat to annex Greenland https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07xkeee2k3o
CNN via YouTube Shorts, Miller says Greenland should ‘obviously’ be a part of US https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tidejP41CBk