European leaders have united in support of Denmark and Greenland after a senior US aide suggested the United States might use force to take control of the Arctic territory. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that Greenland “belongs to its people” in a rare joint rebuke to the White House.
“It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the three leaders said in a statement on Tuesday, issued alongside the prime ministers of Denmark, Italy, Poland, and Spain. The statement came after Stephen Miller, US President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, said “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.
Miller’s comments followed Trump’s renewed demand for control of Greenland, citing the need for its natural resources as the polar ice cap melts. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that an attack on Greenland would risk the collapse of the Nato alliance, saying it would be the end of “everything”.
In response, European leaders emphasised that Arctic security must be achieved collectively with Nato allies. “Nato has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European allies are stepping up,” their statement said. “We and many other allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.”
Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, said Denmark and Greenland had requested an urgent meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the US statements. Meanwhile, the White House confirmed that using the US military to acquire Greenland was “always an option”, describing the acquisition as a “national security priority”.
Lord Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser, warned that annexing Greenland would be disastrous for Nato, “for all practical purposes, the end of an alliance which is based essentially on trust”. He suggested that security coalitions like the one supporting Ukraine would become more significant alongside bilateral defence links with the US.
