Greenland: Ursula von der Leyen arrives for two-day visit, sending a signal to Donald Trump

Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday with a message aimed squarely at the island’s increasingly contentious geopolitical status. The European Commission president began a two-day visit as the EU works to deepen cooperation with the resource-rich Arctic territory, despite renewed US claims over Greenland.

A new EU-Greenland declaration is due to be signed on Monday. Investment commitments worth hundreds of millions of euros are also expected. Von der Leyen said the visit would help strengthen a unique partnership. “We are family,” she wrote on social media.

Greenland belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark but enjoys broad autonomy and is not part of the European Union. Von der Leyen was received at Nuuk airport by Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. At a brief joint press appearance, Nielsen described the visit as a sign of close friendship and a strong partnership that could be developed further.

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We are family.

The first major item on the programme was a boat trip into the Arctic landscape with Nielsen and Frederiksen. The visit carries particular weight because the United States has asserted claims over Greenland, citing security interests, and has sought to force a sale of the vast island to Washington. Donald Trump has argued that Denmark cannot protect the world’s largest island from Russia and China.

Greenland’s population is only about 57,000, but its extensive reserves of critical raw materials have also made it strategically attractive. Trump renewed US claims in July and linked them to an ongoing review of the US military presence in Europe. The United States could reduce its contribution to deterring Russia if no satisfactory agreement on Greenland’s future is reached, according to that position. It remained unclear whether Trump still considers himself bound by an agreement brokered by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in January, which was intended to strengthen Arctic security through joint action by the allies, particularly the seven Arctic states.

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The visit by von der Leyen stands for a very close friendship, a good partnership and something we can continue to build on.