EU chief von der Leyen heads to Greenland in show of support for the island

Published on 06/09/2026 – 16:21 GMT+2

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Greenland on Sunday and Monday, reaffirming the EU’s ongoing support for the island amid repeated calls from US President Donald Trump for the United States to acquire it.

She is expected to sign a joint declaration with the Danish autonomous territory on Monday.

Since taking office again in January last year, President Trump has argued that the United States must take control of Greenland for national security reasons, warning that China or Russia could otherwise seize the island.

In January, President von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of territorial integrity and sovereignty, declaring that the EU stands fully in solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland.

At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, von der Leyen announced that the EU is planning a substantial investment package for Greenland to strengthen Arctic security.

The Commission has earmarked €530 million in its 2028‑2034 budget for Greenland, reflecting its growing geostrategic importance in the Arctic.

According to the Financial Times, von der Leyen will announce an additional €200 million in funding for the island during her visit.

In May, Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, said it was time for the United States to “put its footprint back” on the territory.

Landry, also the governor of Louisiana, made these remarks during his first trip to Greenland since being appointed special envoy in December 2025.

Speaking from Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, Landry told Agence France‑Presse: “I believe the president is discussing increased national security operations and the repopulation of certain bases in Greenland.”

He added that everyone he has spoken with in Greenland would welcome US repopulation of those bases and stressed that the territory “needs the US.”

In January, the leaders of five political parties in Greenland’s parliament issued a joint statement with a clear message to the US.

“We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes; we want to be Greenlanders,” it read.

The United States once maintained 17 military facilities and more than 10,000 troops in Greenland during the Cold War’s peak. Today it operates only one base, the Pituffik Space Base, the Department of Defense’s northernmost installation.

Pituffik serves missile warning, missile defense, and space surveillance missions, according to the US Space Force.

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