Greenland dispute a 'strategic wake-up call for all of Europe,' says France's Macron
Trump repeatedly threatened to annex the world's largest island, citing its importance for US national security.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that a recent standoff with the United States over Greenland was "a strategic wake-up call for all of Europe," speaking alongside the leaders of Denmark and the Danish autonomous territory.
The "awakening" must focus "on asserting our European sovereignty, on our contribution to Arctic security, on the fight against foreign interference and disinformation, and on the fight against global warming," Macron said in Paris.
Macron hosted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic leader Jens Frederik Nielsen at the Élysée Palace, a meeting aimed to send a clear political signal of European support in response to the expansionist ambitions expressed by US President Donald Trump.
According to Paris, the three leaders discussed "the security challenges in the Arctic and the economic and social development of Greenland that France and the European Union are ready to support."
"I think Europe has learned some lessons over the past few weeks," Mette Frederiksen said, emphasising the need for a Europe more capable of defending itself.
She also highlighted NATO's key role.
"NATO will have an important role to play in the Arctic."
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen stressed the political and ideological dimension of cooperation with Paris.
The partnership between France and Greenland, he said, "does not concern Greenland alone" but is part of a shared defence of "democratic values."
This show of European solidarity comes as France prepares to strengthen its diplomatic presence in the region.
Paris plans to open a consulate in Nuuk, the capital of the Danish semi-autonomous territory, on 6 February.
The Paris meeting is part of a broader diplomatic sequence. In recent days, Frederiksen has intensified European consultations, attending a summit on energy and security cooperation in the North Sea in Hamburg, followed by a visit to Berlin.
With its 57,000 inhabitants, Greenland remains a key territory due to its strategic position and natural resources, at the heart of an increasingly contested Arctic region.
Trump repeatedly threatened to annex the world's largest island, citing its importance for US national security. He also claimed, without evidence, that if America didn't take control of Greenland, Russia or China would.
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