Trump’s ambitions in Greenland push Iceland closer to the EU
Concerns over US intentions and regional security are nudging Reykjavik towards Brussels
COPENHAGEN – Donald Trump’s repeated remarks about American ownership of Greenland are sending shockwaves far beyond the island itself, with the pressure now spilling over to neighbouring Iceland and pushing it closer to the EU.
Washington’s renewed interest in Greenland, an autonomous territory that is part of EU member Denmark, has reopened strategic fault lines across the North Atlantic, prompting fresh debate in Iceland over its long-standing distance from the EU. As security concerns rise and reliance on Washington comes under scrutiny, EU membership is increasingly discussed in Reykjavik not as an economic choice, but as a question of long-term defence and geopolitical alignment.
“The Greenland issue is forcing Icelanders to reexamine their international relations, and it is fueling the EU accession debate in Iceland to a significant extent,” Eirikur Bergmann, professor of politics at Iceland’s Bifrost University, told Euractiv.
For years, discussions about closer ties to the EU have surfaced regularly, with debates revolving around fisheries, sovereignty and monetary policy. But for the first time, Iceland – a country of around 390,000 people – is debating its relationship with the EU in security terms, driven in part by its geopolitical similarities with Greenland, according to Bergmann.
“All of the arguments that the US is bringing forth as reasons for why they must acquire Greenland, would apply to Iceland as well,” he said.
Greenland and Iceland are located in the same strategic corridor in the Northwest Atlantic, a region of growing military and commercial importance as global warming opens new shipping routes and increases access to natural resources.
The key difference between the two is political status. Iceland is an independent country and a NATO member in its own right, while Greenland is part of NATO through Denmark. Strategically, however, both occupy key positions between North America and Europe.
The idea of Iceland joining the European Union is not new. The pro-EU Social Democratic Alliance applied for membership during the 2009 financial crisis, but the bid was withdrawn in 2015 after power shifted to the eurosceptic Independence Party and the agrarian Progressive Party. Since then, Iceland’s ties with the bloc have been limited to the European Economic Area and the Schengen agreement.
Reliance on Washington under strain
Iceland’s current EU reassessment comes with particular urgency. The country is the only NATO member without a standing army, relying instead on the alliance and a 1951 bilateral defence agreement with the United States.
That reliance is now being questioned.
According to Bergmann, Iceland’s growing interest in the EU is not driven solely by Trump’s interest in Greenland. Reykjavik has begun reassessing Washington’s reliability as a security partner due to the Trump administration’s lack of commitment to international agreements.
EU membership as a means of safeguarding Icelandic interests and security is gaining ground in the public debate.
This reassessment has also been fuelled by the 15% tariff the US imposed on Icelandic goods in August 2025.
“The U.S. attack on Iceland’s vital interests changes matters fundamentally. It has long been clear that full Icelandic membership in the European Union would be sensible, but now it is hardly avoidable if we intend to defend our interests in the long term,” former Icelandic Prime Minister, Þorsteinn Pálsson, recently wrote in an op-ed in Arctic Today.
Upcoming referendum
Iceland’s Foreign Minister, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, recently announced that parliament will present a resolution this spring on whether to hold a referendum on resuming EU accession talks.
“Developments in world affairs bring out that we should look at what is best suited to strengthening our defences and security,” she said last week, according to RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.
If the parliament approves the resolution, Icelanders will head to the polls within nine months. That suggests the Icelandic government could be aiming for a vote by spring 2027.
Opinion polls conducted in 2025 suggest a narrow majority in favour of EU-membership. A survey by Prósent found 45 percent supporting accession and 35 percent opposing, while a Gallup poll showed similar results.
If Icelanders vote ‘yes’, EU-membership could be a reality within just a few years.
No membership discussion on the Faroe Islands
Meanwhile, Trump’s ambitions in Greenland have not had the same effect on Iceland’s eastern neighbour, the Faroe Islands.
On the Faroe Islands – which, like Greenland, are part of the Danish kingdom – the debate over possible EU membership remains unchanged, Rogvi Olavson, a political researcher at the Tórshavn University of the Faroe Islands, told Euractiv.
According to Olavson, EU-related discussions take up little space in the public debate, and when they do arise, they focus primarily on fisheries.
“The perception of the EU in the Faroe Islands is much more about trade than security,” he said, adding that Trump’s remarks on Greenland have not altered that dynamic.
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