U.S. President Donald Trump has made repeated threats to take over Greenland. In July, he said that “Greenland … should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark” at the outset of a NATO summit in Turkey.
The Arctic has rapidly climbed up Brussels’ geopolitical agenda. Von der Leyen said the region had become a place “where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide,” adding that the EU has a direct stake in developments there and is preparing a new Arctic strategy for presentation this fall.
The Arctic is also expected to feature prominently in von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech next week, as Brussels prepares the revamped strategy.
She also reiterated that Greenland’s future is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide.
The two-day visit, which began Sunday, was aimed at turning the political message into concrete projects. A Commission official said the trip had been months in the making but was postponed at Frederiksen’s request due to Danish elections in March.
Von der Leyen signed a renewed joint declaration with Greenland and Denmark and unveiled a €200 million EU partnership package for this year and next.