EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen refused to confirm that Greenland is covered by the EU’s mutual defense clause on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump renewed his threats to seize the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
“There are many speculations out there about what should be done, what could be done, what may be done,” the European Commission chief told reporters, when asked whether the so-called Article 42.7 of the EU Treaty would apply if the US invaded the mineral-rich Arctic island, which is part of the Danish kingdom but is not formally an EU member.
Her comments come just days after Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the clause – which obliges EU countries to provide “aid and assistance by all the means in their power” to a member state that is a “victim of armed aggression”– would “definitely” apply if the US attacked Greenland.
Von der Leyen’s remarks also came as Trump reiterated his oft-repeated claim on Wednesday that the US “needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security.” This has been strongly disputed by many military experts, who note that the island is already part of NATO and that the American military already has virtually unlimited access to the territory.
NATO’s Article 5, which mirrors the EU’s own Article 42.7, notes that an armed attack on any member of the US-led military alliance “shall be considered an attack against them all.” However, it is unclear what would happen if one NATO ally invaded another.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, von der Leyen said on Wednesday that Arctic security is “without question” a matter for the EU as well as NATO, and that Brussels has “stepped up” its engagement with Nuuk in recent years.
“It’s important that the Greenlanders know, and they know this by the deeds, not only by the words, that we respect the wishes of the Greenlanders and their interests, and that they can count on us,” she said.
Surveys show that the vast majority of Greenlanders want their island to be independent of Denmark and the US. However, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark, we choose NATO … we choose the EU”.