In a warning posted to social media on Monday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on European countries to keep up efforts to increase defense spending to shore up the continent’s security.
“No-one will take seriously a weak and divided Europe: neither enemy nor ally. It is already clear now,” the prime minister said.
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“We must finally believe in our own strength, we must continue to arm ourselves, we must stay united like never before. One for all, and all for one. Otherwise, we are finished.”
Tusk’s warning comes after Donald Trump repeated his threats to take control of Greenland, which the US president says is strategically important to his country’s defense and as a source of mineral wealth.
Coming on the back of Washington’s secret capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, the comments have reignited fears that the US may consider using force to secure Greenland.
‘Everything stops’
The Atlantic island is part of the Kingdom of Denmark—and therefore part of NATO. While the prospect of the US attacking a fellow alliance member would have seemed implausible in the past, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says Trump’s desire to gain control of Greenland is real.
“Unfortunately, I think the American president should be taken seriously when he says he wants Greenland,” she told Danish public broadcaster DR on Monday.
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“I have made it very clear where the Kingdom of Denmark stands, and Greenland has repeatedly said that it does not want to be part of the United States. If the United States attacks another NATO country, everything stops,” she added.
Tusk’s warning against a “weak and divided” Europe on Monday follows comments made by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski to TVP World on Sunday, in which he said Europe must assume greater responsibility for its own defense regardless of U.S. politics.
‘We do need Greenland’
The Venezuela operation, which saw US forces detain President Maduro and transport him to stand trial in the US on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, has put a renewed focus on Washington’s foreign policy ambitions, especially in regions it considers strategically important.
In an interview for The Atlantic magazine on Sunday, which focused largely on the raid in Caracas, Trump said: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
He later doubled down on his claim, adding: “We will deal with Greenland in about two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
Leaders from several European countries have since expressed solidarity with Denmark and Greenland, calling for the respect of territorial integrity and saying that only Danes and Greenlanders can decide their own future.
US raid catches Europe off guard
The covert operation in Venezuela caught world leaders off guard, with many US allies appearing to try to avoid condemning Washington’s removal of a head of state seen by much of the West as illegitimate while simultaneously stressing the importance of international law and sovereignty.
The office of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas issued a joint statement with all but one of the bloc’s member states on Sunday calling for the need to uphold “the principles of international law” after the US capture of Maduro.
The statement, which only Hungary did not support, said: “The EU has repeatedly stated that Nicolás Maduro lacks the legitimacy of a democratically elected president… The right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected.
“At the same time, the EU stresses that these challenges must be addressed through sustained cooperation in full respect of international law and the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
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