EU pledges more than $200m to Greenland amid Trump threats

Brussels has proposed doubling direct EU aid to Greenland under the bloc’s next budget as military exercises kick off.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (right), Greenland's Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen (centre) and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sign a joint declaration in Nuuk, Greenland, on September 7, 2026 [Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix /AFP]

The European Union has signed a declaration with resource-rich Greenland, promising a stronger partnership and announcing a $232m (200 million-euro) investment package to soothe anxiety caused by repeated threats from US President Donald Trump to annex the self-governing Danish territory.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the package, aimed at improving local quality of life over the next two years, during a visit to the Greenlandic capital Nuuk on Monday.

The EU shifted its focus towards Greenland, seeking increased cooperation with the Arctic island, following Trump’s push for greater US control of the semi-autonomous territory. His persistent threats, citing national security concerns, resulted in pushback from Greenland and Denmark and strained relationships with NATO allies.

“Greenland’s future is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide. No one else,” von der Leyen said.

The EU-Greenland declaration was signed by von der Leyen, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Nuuk.

The investment package will go to Greenland’s government to strengthen administrative capability and planned programmes promoting sustainable tourism and housing construction.

Von der Leyen said the EU aims to be “more present and more engaged” in the region. Brussels has proposed doubling direct EU aid to Greenland to 530 million euros ($616m) under the bloc’s next budget for the 2028–2034 period.

Her visit coincided with the start of NATO’s Arctic Shield military exercise, bringing together soldiers from 11 countries of the alliance. The exercise will involve about 400 NATO military personnel in Greenland and will run from September 7 to 18.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen visit the company Eutelsat Oneweb in Nuuk, Greenland, on September 7, 2026 [Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix /AFP]

“Through these challenging times, your support to us is unfailing,” Nielsen said. “You have stood by us and continue to stand by us. We feel it and are deeply grateful.”

“Greenland needs the European Union, and the European Union needs Greenland,” he added.

In January, eight European countries, including Denmark, sent a small group of military personnel to Greenland for public military exercises to show support for the island’s sovereignty and strengthen Arctic security.

Trump responded to the public military display by threatening tariffs on the countries, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The US president backed down in February after NATO agreed to expand its military operations in the Arctic.

At the height of the crisis, Trump would not rule out using force to seize the territory of 57,000 inhabitants, sowing anxiety within the EU and NATO.

随着军事演习的开始，布鲁塞尔提议在欧盟的下一个预算中将对格陵兰岛的直接援助增加一倍。

丹麦首相梅特·弗雷德里克森（右）、格陵兰岛总理延斯·弗雷德里克·尼尔森（中）和欧盟委员会主席乌苏拉·冯德莱恩于 2026 年 9 月 7 日在格陵兰岛努克签署联合声明 [Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix /法新社]

欧盟与资源丰富的格陵兰岛签署了一项宣言，承诺加强伙伴关系，并宣布一项 2.32 亿美元（2 亿欧元）的投资计划，以缓解美国总统唐纳德·特朗普一再威胁吞并这个丹麦自治领土所引起的焦虑。

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩周一在访问格陵兰首都努克期间宣布了这项旨在未来两年内改善当地居民生活质量的计划。

在特朗普推动美国加强对格陵兰岛的控制后，欧盟将关注重点转向格陵兰岛，寻求与这个北极岛屿加强合作。特朗普以国家安全为由不断发出威胁，导致格陵兰岛和丹麦的反对，并加剧了与北约盟国的紧张关系。

冯德莱恩说：“格陵兰的未来应该由格陵兰和丹麦人民决定，其他人无权干涉。”

欧盟-格陵兰宣言由冯德莱恩、格陵兰总理延斯·弗雷德里克·尼尔森和丹麦首相梅特·弗雷德里克森在努克签署。

这笔投资将用于支持格陵兰政府加强行政能力和规划项目，以促进可持续旅游和住房建设。

冯德莱恩表示，欧盟的目标是在该地区“更加活跃、更加积极地参与”。布鲁塞尔方面已提议，在欧盟2028-2034年预算中，将对格陵兰的直接援助增加一倍，达到5.3亿欧元（约合6.16亿美元）。

她的访问恰逢北约“北极之盾”军事演习开始，此次演习汇集了来自北约11个成员国的士兵。演习将在格陵兰岛举行，约有400名北约军事人员参加，时间从9月7日至18日。

欧盟委员会主席乌苏拉·冯德莱恩、格陵兰岛首相詹斯·弗雷德里克·尼尔森和丹麦首相梅特·弗雷德里克森于 2026 年 9 月 7 日访问位于格陵兰岛努克的 Eutelsat Oneweb 公司 [Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix /法新社]

尼尔森说：“在这些充满挑战的时期，你们对我们的支持始终如一。你们过去一直与我们站在一起，现在也依然如此。我们感受到了，并对此深表感激。”

“格陵兰需要欧盟，欧盟也需要格陵兰，”他补充道。

1月份，包括丹麦在内的8个欧洲国家向格陵兰岛派遣了一小队军事人员进行公开军事演习，以示对该岛主权的支持并加强北极安全。

特朗普对此次公开军事展示的回应是威胁要对包括丹麦、芬兰、法国、德国、荷兰、挪威、瑞典和英国在内的这些国家加征关税。在北约同意扩大其在北极的军事行动后，美国总统于2月份做出了让步。

在危机最严重的时候，特朗普不排除动用武力夺取拥有 57,000 名居民的领土，这在欧盟和北约内部引发了恐慌。