The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle set sail from the Mediterranean port of Toulon.
French officials declined to give precise details of its route, sources said the carrier strike group is heading into the North Atlantic,
Tag: Greenland
EC President vows to increase defence spending in Greenland, strengthen Arctic security
EU remains on its guard despite Trump backing down on tariff threats • FRANCE 24 English
Trump has backed down from his threats of tariffs on European countries to push them to agree to a US purchase of Greenland.
While the European Union wants to continue trade ties with it’s largest trading partner, it warned the bloc will stand up for its interests.
Trump’s insistence that Greenland become part of the US is the biggest challenge to NATO since its establishment in 1949 [Updated]
Former NATO boss and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Rasmussen said on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, that Trump’s insistence that Greenland should become part of the US represented the biggest challenge to NATO since its establishment in 1949.
“It’s really the future of NATO that is at stake,” said Rasmussen, who offers a unique perspective on the crisis as a former leader of both Denmark – from 2001 to 2009 – and NATO, where he served as secretary general from 2009 to 2014.
Only 17% of Americans support Canada becoming either a US territory or the 51st State
According to a survey by public opinion pollster Research Co., released Monday January 19, 2026, few Americans share Trump’s expansionist aspirations.
Two thirds of Americans (66%) want Canada to remain an independent nation, while 10% would “prefer” Canada become a US territory and 7% would declare it the 51st State.
The results are similar when Americans ponder Mexico, with just over two thirds (67%) maintaining the status quo of Mexico as an independent nation and fewer opting for the country to become a US territory (10%) or an American state (5%).
Trump escalates tensions, posts AI generated image of US flag over Greenland, Canada, Cuba, and Venezuela
Trump posted a doctored image on social media early Tuesday morning showing the president surrounded by European leaders in the Oval Office with a map displaying Canada, Greenland and Venezuela covered in the US flag. The photo was one in a string of posts from the president overnight.
Donald Trump says ‘no going back’ on Greenland takeover plan | BBC News
Source:
Mark Colley, Toronto Star: Trump posts doctored image of U.S. flag over Canada, Greenland https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/trump-posts-doctored-image-of-u-s-flag-over-canada-greenland/article_61baa2ca-210a-4526-941c-fa2f54026a10.html
Europe is again considering setting up the equivalent of a UN Security Council
EU officials and leaders are getting behind the idea, while lawmakers are drafting legal options.
“We lack a proper united leadership platform to discuss the most important European defense issues,” EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said last week. “It’s now an urgent task to turn this idea into reality.”
Sergey Lagodinsky, a German European Parliament lawmaker and vice president of the Greens group, is proposing a council gathering the leaders of Europe’s big six — Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and the U.K. — alongside two rotating seats for smaller countries and the European Parliament president.
Continue reading “Europe is again considering setting up the equivalent of a UN Security Council”
Canada should join European countries to show strong solidarity with Greenland, Denmark, and NATO
Trump faces off with NATO allies over Greenland
Trump’s text message on Sunday, January 18, 2026, to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, stating he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of peace” after he failed to win Norway’s Nobel Peace Prize, was confirmed by Prime Minister Støre.
Trump questioned Denmark’s claim to Greenland and said he would put American interests first. “The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland,” Trump wrote.
An attack on Greenland “would make America weaker, not safer”
Greenland is not a marginal issue for Europeans. Threats against it cut to the heart of the idea of Europe, of sovereignty, international law and trust. Key European leaders recently stressed they are united in their position that it is up to Denmark and Greenland to decide their own fate — and no one else. The potential for a crisis is real, and what is most confounding is that this would be a crisis that is entirely unnecessary and easily avoidable.
Threatening to annex territory belonging to a NATO ally strikes at the very foundation of the alliance. NATO is not merely a military grouping; it is a community of liberal democracies that has endured precisely because its members trust — and do not threaten — one another. They consult, negotiate and resolve disputes peacefully. This shared political culture is not a luxury — it is NATO’s greatest strategic asset. It sets us apart from those that depend on threats and tricks to keep their “friends” together.
Continue reading “An attack on Greenland “would make America weaker, not safer””
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Greenland ‘can only be defended if it is part of the US’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday, January 18, 2026, defended the president’s calls for the US to take over Greenland amid concerns from European allies that an annexation would destroy NATO relations.
Scott Bessent says Greenland ‘can only be defended if it is part of the U.S.’: Full interview
US increasingly focused on Canada to ensuring American dominance in the Arctic
The president’s intensifying focus on Canada behind closed doors, whose relationship with the US has been deeply strained since he came into office, comes as he transforms some of his longtime criticisms of America’s neighbours in the Western Hemisphere into actions aimed at expanding US power in the region.
Protecting Canada’s northern border is a key part of Trump and his top aides’ vision of “solidifying” the Western Hemisphere, as one of the US officials put it. As the Americans see it, the acquisition of Greenland would also benefit Canada.
Continue reading “US increasingly focused on Canada to ensuring American dominance in the Arctic”