Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Denmark's sovereignty is vital for the EU amidst US interest in Greenland. NATO and Denmark plan to boost Arctic defenses.
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)
European Council President Antonio Costa stated that Denmark's sovereignty is an 'essential issue' for the EU, emphasizing the importance of its territorial stability.
U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed that Greenland is vital to U.S. security and suggested that Denmark should relinquish control over the island.
NATO and Denmark agreed to focus on strengthening Arctic defenses, with Denmark committing to increase its Arctic defense spending by $2 billion.
Both Greenland and Denmark have publicly stated that Greenland is not for sale, with Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede asserting that its people should determine their own future.
The U.S. military maintains a permanent base in northwestern Greenland, which functions as a ballistic missile early-warning system.
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