European leaders led by Keir Starmer have issued a coordinated warning on Greenland's sovereignty, drawing a firm diplomatic line after Donald Trump renewed assertions that the United States should acquire the autonomous Danish territory for security reasons.
The joint declaration, signed by seven European heads of government including Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Giorgia Meloni, Donald Tusk, Pedro Sánchez and Mette Frederiksen, marks one of Europe's clearest collective rebukes of a sitting U.S. president in recent years.
The statement follows remarks by Trump in a recent NBC News interview, where he described Greenland as strategically indispensable. "We need Greenland for national security, and that includes Europe," Trump said. "I think that Greenland is very important for the national security of the United States, Europe, and other parts of the free world."
European leaders responded by grounding their position in NATO commitments and international law rather than transactional security arguments. "Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and it is critical for international and transatlantic security," the joint communiqué stated.
The declaration stressed that "NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark - including Greenland - is part of NATO."
By highlighting increased European military presence in the High North, the leaders directly challenged Trump's suggestion that Greenland's security requires U.S. ownership. The statement framed Arctic stability as a collective responsibility already being addressed within existing alliances.
The communiqué also explicitly rejected any notion that sovereignty could be transferred through purchase or coercion. "Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them."
The sharpest language was reserved for Greenland's political status. "Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland."
Trump's renewed focus on Greenland is not new. He raised the idea publicly last year and even sent his son to the island, moves that were widely criticised in Europe at the time. What has shifted is the framing: Trump now presents the proposal as an urgent security necessity amid rising Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic.
