Denmark's sovereignty is 'essential issue' for the EU, European Council president says

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Denmark's sovereignty is an "essential issue" for the EU, the European Council President said in an interview on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to express interest in claiming Greenland for the United States.

The Arctic island is a semi-autonomous Danish territory.

"The territoriality of Denmark, the sovereignty of Denmark, the stability of its borders is obviously an essential issue," European Council President Antonio Costa told Euronews.

The comments echo those of EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas who said the bloc was "not negotiating" on Greenland.

Trump has said Greenland is vital to U.S. security and Denmark must give up control of the strategically important Arctic island. He also said he has not ruled out using military or economic power to achieve his goal.

The U.S. military has a permanent base in northwestern Greenland that serves as a ballistic missile early-warning system.

On Tuesday, NATO and Denmark agreed at a meeting to focus on strengthening Arctic defences and Copenhagen said it would boost Arctic defence spending by $2 billion.

Greenland and Denmark have both publicly said the Arctic island is not for sale, with Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede saying that its people should decide their own future.

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(Reporting by Julia Payne in Brussels; Editing by Nia Williams)