Europe wants to strengthen security in Greenland to stop Trump

BrusselsEuropean allies continue to walk a tightrope to prevent Donald Trump from carrying out his threats. The latest move they are considering is increasing the European military presence in the Arctic and, in doing so, undermining the argument for which Theoretically, the White House wants to seize Greenland.The lack of security in the region and the fear that Russia and China will take advantage of it.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated in a social media post that "a significantly increased military presence will have a real impact" on "Arctic security," both for Europe and the United States. Similarly, British media report that the UK and Germany are already in talks with other European allies about a possible military deployment in Greenland, including the deployment of troops and, among other things, aircraft.

In fact, this mission was one of the main topics discussed by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Monday evening. The European allies want US approval, to involve the US military in the initiative, and to carry it out under the NATO umbrella. However, the Trump administration insists it wants to seize Greenland and keeps the option of achieving this by military force completely open. In any case, the European allies are willing to reinforce security in response to Trump's threats. And, although they have not yet sent any reinforcements, they have already expressed their willingness to increase Greenland's security and allocate more resources if Denmark requests it. Two of the countries that have publicly stated this are France and Spain. "If it were necessary to reinforce security, it would be reinforced," assured the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares.

It's worth remembering that, although Trump argues that Greenland is undefended, the United States already has permission to send troops and military resources there without limit and indefinitely. Furthermore, the Pentagon has substantially reduced its presence in Greenland in recent years.

Rutte's silence

The NATO Secretary General often plays the role of a bridge between the interests of the United States, which control de facto the entity, and those of its European allies. However, Mark Rutte has earned a reputation within the halls of the Atlantic Alliance as a Trump sycophant who always comes to his defense. He doesn't offer even the slightest criticism of the US president and, on the contrary, praises him as the great savior of the organization because he has managed to get the allies to increase military spending, which the US president also says of himself. "I am the one who saved NATO," the American wrote on social media this Monday. A message that comes shortly after several experts and leaders, such as the Danish prime minister, They warned that a Pentagon attack on an ally's territory would end NATO.

Trump's threats escalate: he insists that the US "will have Greenland one way or another," but Rutte is acting as if he's in the dark and, at Monday's press conference in Zagreb, Croatia, didn't even offer a message of support to Denmark. Nor did he advocate for compliance with international law or multilateralism, as was customary for NATO leaders and as Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković did insist.

The Dutch leader simply responded that "the most important thing is that the allies consider Arctic security a priority" and that they are already "discussing how to collectively protect" the region. The Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance even stated that, since Trump returned to the White House, NATO "is much more involved" in Arctic security.

Criticism from Beijing

Beijing has criticized Trump for using the supposed threat from China as a pretext for his expansionist ambitions. The Chinese Foreign Ministry urged the US "not to use other countries as an excuse for its own selfish purposes." "The right and freedom of all countries to carry out normal activities in the Arctic region must be respected," stated chief spokesperson Mao Ning, who emphasized that China's activities in the area are aimed at "peace, stability, and development in the region." "The Arctic affects the general interests of the international community," she added during a press conference.