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The European Union will invest an additional €200 million in Greenland over the next two years to deepen economic ties and extract raw materials, Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday during an official visit to the vast Arctic island.
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“We know that the Arctic has become one of the places where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide, so we have a direct stake in what happens here,” the president of the European Commission said in Nuuk.
The financial package aims to expand the bloc’s presence in the semi-autonomous territory, which has long been in US President Donald Trump’s sights.
Trump has rattled the transatlantic alliance with his push to seize Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark. Tensions peaked in January, when he threatened to impose steep tariffs to pressure Denmark into relinquishing the territory. He later backed down amid backlash.
But in July, Trump suddenly revived his ambition to annex the island, indicating the subject was still top of his mind.
Von der Leyen used her trip to Nuuk to underline European support amid what she called “enormous pressure”, though she did not mention Trump by name.
“The European Union stands in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. We will continue to do so. And we want to be very clear and repeat again here that Greenland’s future is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide. No one else,” she said in remarks to the press.
“Territorial integrity, sovereignty, the inviolability of borders. These are fundamental principles of international law.”
Standing by her side, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thanked von der Leyen for her words.
“Greenland needs the European Union, and the European Union needs Greenland,” Nielsen said. “I firmly believe this to be true. We need each other.”
“Your voice has been very clear the last couple of years. We needed that, and we need it now, so thank you for that,” Frederiksen told von der Leyen.
Frederiksen said Denmark was open to working “closer” with both the US and Europe on security and defence matters related to the Arctic, a region that climate change is making increasingly attractive to world powers.
The €200 million investment package will spread across three key areas: digital connectivity, including subsea cables and satellite infrastructure; clean energy, with a particular focus on hydropower; and sustainable mining of critical raw materials.
Greenland holds 25 of the 34 minerals that Brussels considers crucial for the homegrown development of renewable energy systems and cutting-edge technology. The sector is monopolised by China, leaving the EU at the mercy of Beijing’s export controls.
Mining on the island, however, remains well below its potential due to harsh glacial conditions that discourage investors from undertaking expensive projects.
Minerals were among the reasons Trump cited to justify his threat to take over Greenland, though he told the New York Times it was ultimately a question of ownership. He has also complained that allies have failed to invest enough in the region.
Europeans have since tried to counter Trump’s narrative by doubling down on their commitments to Greenland. Over the next two weeks, soldiers from 10 countries will take part in NATO’s Arctic Shield exercise.
Meanwhile, the Commission is working to update its Arctic strategy and has earmarked €530 million specifically for Greenland in its proposal for the next EU budget.
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