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DW
09-07-2025
- Politics
- DW
Denmark finalizes US defense deal despite Greenland gripes – DW – 07/09/2025
President Trump refuses to rule out forcibly annexing Greenland. Yet the Danish parliament has just passed a law allowing the US military free access to bases. Why? At first glance, it doesn't seem to make any sense. The US president has deeply rattled Denmark by reiterating several times he may invade and occupy the semi-autonomous island of Greenland for "national security" reasons. But rather than looking at how it could bolster its national defenses against a possible — even if unlikely — incursion, the Danish parliament on June 11 overwhelming approved an agreement to let the US military enter the country whenever it wants, for whatever reason it sees fit. "[T]he purpose of such presence of US forces is to further the efforts of the Parties to promote peace and security in the areas of mutual interest and benefit and to take part in common defense efforts," the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) states. Some areas may even be put under the exclusive control of the US, although Greenland — which already hosts a US base — and the Faroe Islands are excluded. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The DCA was drafted in 2023 with the Biden administration, at a time when transatlantic trust and cooperation were the norm and the notion of an unwelcome US deployment into any Danish territory was inconceivable. Why would Copenhagen advance the deal now? "We didn't have any option but to say yes," explained Royal Danish Defense College military analyst Peter Viggo Jakobsen, acknowledging some heightened public opposition to the move ahead of the final parliamentary vote. Ultimately, he told DW, Denmark needs the DCA more than the US does. Holding off ratification to show displeasure with the White House's Greenland statements, as some have advocated, would be "pointless" in Jakobsen's view. He doesn't think a land grab is actually likely to happen regardless of the president's bluster, so he advises just keeping Danish angst under wraps. "You saw what happened to Zelenskyy," when Ukraine's president tried to argue with Trump, Jakobsen reminded. "He was blown out of the water, and it was fantastic television. We're not really in a position where we want to do that, so I think you need to be tactical about it." And being tactical for this analyst means emphasizing the original intent of the DCA, which is creating the conditions for the US to come quickly to the aid of Denmark in case of emergency. "We will be deploying Danish forces on the Russian border in one of the Baltic countries" as part of NATO's presence there, Jakobsen explained, "and we need [the US] for air support if something should go wrong … and to enhance deterrence in order to make sure that the Russians don't attack our forces in the Baltics." But Danish lawmaker Per Clausen, a member of The Left group in the European Parliament, is among those who wanted his fellow parliamentarians back home to reject the DCA. "The idea that the US should have troops in Denmark and the US decides when the troops should be here and where they should be — it's a terrible mistake!" he told DW. "[Trump] had threatened Greenland. He had shown in his behavior against Ukrainians that we couldn't trust him," Clausen recalled, and "even in that situation, the Danish government said the 'US is our closest ally'. It will take some time to come out of this illusion, I think." Clausen believes Copenhagen's real allies lie in Europe, especially its nearest neighbors, and that the government should be weaning itself off of dependency on the US instead of binding itself closer. "We need to strengthen the cooperation with other Nordic countries and with Canada in the situation we are in now," he added. But Clausen may not find many kindred spirits wanting to distance themselves from US cooperation in the other Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden and Norway had all signed DCAs before Denmark did. Only in Sweden — which granted the US access to 17 bases or training areas in its agreement — was debate over the deal particularly "vociferous," as the Swedish Defense Research Agency's Niklas Granholm puts it. In a five-hour session in the Swedish parliament, the deal was accused of opening up the possibility for American soldiers to run amok all over the country and for the US to deposit nuclear weapons on Swedish territory. These arguments were "at best uninformed or something else worse than that, in my view," Granholm said, and may also have been the "last hurrah of those who were against NATO membership and military alignment." It nonetheless passed handily. Speaking of NATO, why do these countries, which are now all covered by the alliance's mutual security guarantee, Article 5, even need a separate pledge that Washington would defend them if needed? Granholm describes it as a second layer of assurance. "There are NATO plans and there are US plans for Europe," he explained, and with 32 allies each having the right to hold up consensus on a call for Article 5 back-up, "you can imagine that there's some kind of blockage" in the midst of an emergency. He believes this was the main reason for Sweden's push for the DCA. But in Denmark, Peter Viggo Jakobsen has a more pessimistic rationale for why the DCA is necessary now more than ever. "Imagine that NATO should fall apart," he suggested. "It's no longer inconceivable, given what we've just experienced [with Trump] the last six months." He says under such a scenario, US self-interest would take over and they'd need a presence in northern Europe. "They're very concerned about the Russian nuclear weapons that are based on the Kola Peninsula. And if you want to take them out, then you need to be present in Greenland, you need to be present in Iceland, you need be present in Norway and in Finland and in Sweden." And, Jakobsen added, "it's also useful to be able to place aircraft in Denmark." Now with the DCA, the US won't even have to ask first.
Al Arabiya
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Vance due in Greenland as anger mounts over Trump's statement
US Vice President JD Vance is on Friday due to tour a US military base in Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation amid President Donald Trump's bid to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory. Trump insisted on Wednesday that the United States needed the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has previously refused to rule out the use of force to get it. 'We have to have it,' he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he considers Trump's plans 'serious'. 'It is a deep mistake to think that this is some extravagant talk from the new American administration. It is nothing of the sort,' Putin said. Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted that the US will not get Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a much broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as 'unacceptable pressure' on Greenland and Denmark. Greenlanders -- a majority of whom oppose US annexation, according to a January poll -- had also said they would give the delegation a frosty reception, with several protests planned. In the end, Vance and his wife Usha will only visit the US-run Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island, accompanied by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The delegation is to meet with US Space Force members and 'check out what's going on with the security' of Greenland, Vance said in a video message. The vice president angered Danes in early February when he said Denmark was 'not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally'. A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans 'for many, many decades', including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Key missile defense cog The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defense infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States. Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, the base served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected. Vance is 'right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish', Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, told AFP. He said Washington needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response. In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialized vessels and surveillance equipment. Putin expressed concern Thursday that 'NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts'. 'Not for sale' Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Innuits, and is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the US and Greenland could cooperate on mining to 'bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States.' Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials. While all of Greenland's political parties are in favor of independence, none of them support the idea of joining the US. JD Vance's visit comes at a time of political flux in Greenland. Following elections in March, the territory has had only a transitional government, with parties still in negotiations to form a new coalition government. Initially, Vance's wife Usha was to attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut, while various early reports suggested Wright and US national security adviser Mike Waltz would also take part in the visit. 'Our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,' Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a post on Facebook on Monday. He recalled that the government had not 'sent out any invitations for visits, private or official'.
Boston Globe
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Change in itinerary for US Vice President JD Vance brings cautious relief for Greenland and Denmark
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Trump, in an interview Wednesday on 'The Vince Show,' repeated his desire for US control of Greenland. Asked if the people there are 'eager' to become US citizens, Trump said he did not know 'but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them.' Advertisement The vice president's decision to visit a US military base in Greenland has removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation. Yet Vance has also criticized long-standing European allies for relying on military support from the United States, openly antagonizing partners in ways that have generated concerns about the reliability of the US. During his first term, Trump floated the idea of purchasing the world's largest island, even as Denmark insisted it was not for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Trump's plans. Anne Merrild, a Greenlander and an expert on Arctic politics and development, said recent anti-US demonstrations in Nuuk might have scared the Trump administration enough to revise the trip to avoid interactions with angry Greenlanders. Still, Merrild said, even a visit to the space base shows that the US administration still considers annexing Greenland to be on the table. 'It's a signal to the whole world, it's a strong signal to Denmark, it's a signal to Greenland,' she said. 'And of course it's also an internal signal to the US, that this is something that we're pursuing.' Advertisement Vance is allowed to visit the base, said Marc Jacobsen, a professor at the Royal Danish Defense College, because of a 1951 agreement between Denmark and the US regarding the defense of Greenland. Jacobsen said the timing is controversial, particularly because coalition negotiations are ongoing to form a government after the election earlier this month. Ahead of the vice president's announcement that he would join his wife, discontent from the governments of Greenland and Denmark had been growing sharper, with the Greenland government posting on Facebook Monday night that it had 'not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official.' Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish national broadcasts Tuesday that the visit was 'unacceptable pressure.' Peter Viggo Jakobsen, associate professor at the Danish Defense Academy, said the trip's flip-flop continues to cause major confusion on the island. The US has not articulated specific demands from Greenland or Denmark at this point. 'We have no idea what the end game is,' Jakobsen said. In Greenland, the political group the most sympathetic to the US president, the Naleraq party that advocates a swift path toward independence, has now been excluded from coalition talks to form the next government. The Trump administration's aspirations for Greenland could backfire and push the more mild parties closer to Denmark. 'But now Trump has scared most Greenlanders away from this idea about a close relationship to the United States because they don't trust him,' Jakobsen added. One of the biggest remaining hurdles to Greenland's independence is diversifying the economy, where fishing accounts for 90 percent of exports. In the meantime, Greenland receives an annual block grant from Denmark of around 3.5 billion kronen ($506 million), which is more than half the public budget, to cover the island's Nordic-style social programs, including free health care. Advertisement It's therefore better for Greenland, strategically, to threaten Denmark with independence and a referendum than actually do it, Jakobsen said. As long as the threat is there, Greenland can push for more concessions and more money from Denmark. If the island pins all its hopes on the US, Greenlanders have no guarantee they will be better off or have any power in a future relationship with America, he said. 'In that sense, Trump is the Danish realm's best friend at the moment,' Jakobsen added.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump says 'we have to have' Greenland, ahead of Vance trip
US President Donald Trump ramped up his claims to Greenland on Wednesday, saying ahead of a visit by Vice President JD Vance that the United States needed to take control of the Danish island for "international security." Since coming to power in January, Trump has repeatedly insisted that he wants the self-governed territory to be a US possession, refusing to rule out the use of force to achieve his goal. "We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it," Trump told podcaster Vince Coglianese. "I hate to put it that way, but we're going to have to have it." Greenland, which is seeking independence from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned. It is also strategically located between North America and Europe at a time of rising US, Chinese and Russian interest in the Arctic, where sea lanes have opened up because of climate change. The US president's latest strident comments come as Vice President Vance is due to accompany his wife Usha on a visit to the US-run Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede had earlier harshly criticized plans by a US delegation to visit the Arctic island uninvited for what was initially a much broader visit. Egede had qualified the initial plans as "foreign interference," noting that the outgoing government had not "sent out any invitations for visits, private or official." On Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen welcomed the decision to limit the visit to the US space base. "I think it's very positive that the Americans have canceled their visit among Greenlandic society. They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that," he told public broadcaster DR. - 'Respect this process' - Greenlandic officials have repeatedly said the territory does not want to be either Danish or American, but is "open for business" with everyone. According to opinion polls, most Greenlanders support independence from Denmark but not annexation by Washington. Following March 11 elections, Greenland has only a transitional government, with parties still in negotiations to form a new coalition government. Egede has called for "all countries to respect this process." Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defense College, called the decision to limit the US visit "a de-escalation," a term also used by Foreign Minister Lokke. "The fact that the Greenlandic and Danish authorities are telling you that you're not welcome is significant," he told AFP. "The risk of negative coverage in the media and social networks may have weighed even more," he added, noting that a demonstration was announced in Sisimiut, following an initial anti-US demonstration in the capital Nuuk on March 15. aha-cbw/bgs
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Don't buy Greenland: Support its independence and a strategic partnership
Here's the first thing President Trump's advisors must tell him. When negotiating with Denmark to buy Greenland: it isn't Denmark's to sell. Donald Trump is not the first U.S. president to make an offer to buy Greenland. President Harry Truman offered Denmark $100 million for it in 1946. Today, 56,000 Greenlanders strive for political recognition, autonomy and (if it became possible) independence from their former colonizers. In 2008, the country overwhelmingly passed a referendum on Greenland self-governance. Politically, this placed the Greenlandic parliament on an equal basis with the Danish parliament — although this relationship is an uneasy one. Some aspects of Greenland's politics remain under Danish control: foreign policy, security and international agreements. And this costs Denmark plenty — it contributes two-thirds of Greenland's budget ($1.59 billion). Under current law, Greenlanders have the right to self-determination, and any agreement to purchase this vast landscape would need the approval of the Greenlanders. Many are calling the idea of the U.S. getting control of the island — ludicrous — but closer examination says, maybe not. What Trump actually wants is Arctic access for America. A purchase would only be possible if the autonomous territory declared independence from Denmark. He could seek to make it a commonwealth like Puerto Rico. Or he could construct a relationship like what the U.S. has with Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands, giving the U.S. military access in exchange for security and financial benefits. In fact, a strategic arrangement involving U.S. security guarantees as well as a huge investment commitment could bode well for Greenland and the U.S. Trump's vision of American ownership of Greenland is not mere political theatre; it has roots in history. During the Cold War, a legal basis for American presence there was established by the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement. This agreement empowers the U.S. to significantly influence and potentially control this strategically vital territory, especially when 'national security' is invoked. The arrangement allows for the establishment of 'defense areas' in Greenland — including the Pituffik Space Base, a material contribution to American strategic capabilities in the Arctic. Securing Greenland in this way would give the U.S. access to crucial resources like rare earths (25 of 34 minerals deemed 'critical raw materials' by the European Commission are found in Greenland). The move could also guard against hostile incursions via the Arctic. As climate change potentially opens a sea route across the Arctic, the island's strategic importance will only be enhanced. Greenland can be of paramount importance to America — as China and Russia compete with the U.S. to claim northern territory with an aim to control the region and access its scarce natural resources. Marc Jacobsen, of the Royal Danish Defense College, told Newsweek that while the idea of buying Greenland was seen as a 'neocolonial provocation' in 2019, today it is viewed as 'an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties between Greenland and the U.S.,' Jacobsen said. Moreover, he continued, 'Today, several Greenlandic politicians state that of course Greenland is not for sale, but they are very interested in strengthening ties with the U.S., especially in ways that can improve the Greenlandic economy.' Realpolitik requires us to state that, pragmatically, acquiescence to a Trump bid to purchase Greenland outright would be unlikely. Trump, in a 'fiery' phone call, told Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen he is serious about taking over Greenland. In response, Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede reiterated that 'Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish; we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic.' Denmark united against the idea of a sale in 2019, and the Greenlanders themselves are unenthusiastic about swapping one sovereignty for another as opposed to declaring outright independence. Yet, this idea of sovereignty for Greenland could be the key to Trump getting what he wants from the island –— access to the Arctic. What if the U.S. offered to provide financial and security guarantees in support of Greenland's desire for independence? The latter might very well be inclined towards a strategic relationship with America. Greenland's GDP in 2021 was $3.24 billion. But its true value includes future growth and untapped resources like minerals and oil. David Barker, former economist at the New York Federal Reserve, estimates a purchase price of between $12.5 billion and $77 billion based on prices paid by the U.S. for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Alaska, adjusted for inflation and economic growth. But if the U.S. does not buy the island and only provides security guarantees and investment commitments to support its independence from Denmark, the cost is less (including its budget needs of $1.59 billion). The GDP of both countries (but especially Greenland) will increase substantially with the development of its natural resources. Greenland achieves independence, security and development –— America gets unfettered access to the Arctic. Few countries other than the U.S. have the public and private capital needed to 'capitalize' the island's growth potential as well as provide for its strategic defense. With its established historical presence, existing legal framework for a presence as well as significant defense assets in Greenland, the United States is advantaged in its efforts to assert its interests in this strategically important land mass. Trump should pursue this approach toward Greenland's independence, highlighting already recognized long-standing security agreements with Greenland that have demonstrated well-defined mutual benefits for over 70 years. In doing so, the U.S. can make a compelling argument for enhancing its role in Greenland's future through increased security arrangements and substantial economic investment. This approach is consistent with Trump's vision of increased American control over a vital Arctic territory. It ensures U.S. national security interests while also protecting Western access to a strategically important region of the world. F. Andrew Wolf Jr. is the director of The Fulcrum Institute, an organization of current and former scholars in the humanities, arts and sciences. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
