Calling the EU “a steadfast friend … during challenging times we are going through right now,” Nielsen talked up the island’s vast reserves of rare earths and critical minerals, which he said have the potential to “shift global and security balances” and are ripe for investment.
“Greenland is ready to move with the EU to hasten the pace,” he said, adding that the island was seeking investments from the European Investment Bank in projects “related to infrastructure and raw materials.”
Nielsen, who wore a blue anorak while addressing MEPs, noted one area of disagreement was the EU’s trade ban on seal products, which he said had hurt Greenland’s seal-hunting industry. His speech earned a standing ovation from the plenary.
Greenland and the EU have deepened diplomatic ties since Trump’s aggressive overtures, which began earlier this year when the U.S. president refused to rule out sending troops or using economic pressure to take over the island.
Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, told POLITICO in May that the island was interested in exploring a more robust trade partnership with the EU on energy and critical minerals — resources which Trump has said he covets.
But Nielsen was quick to clarify to reporters after his speech that Greenland would not seek to fully rejoin the bloc. The island left the European Communities, a precursor to the EU, in 1985 after a referendum. While its citizens hold Danish and therefore EU passports, Greenland remains outside the Union.