European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced at a joint news conference in Nuuk, Greenland, where she met with Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, that a joint declaration to strengthen cooperation between the EU, Greenland and Denmark had been signed.
Von der Leyen said the EU would invest a total of €200 million in Greenland this year and next year. The package will focus on three strategic areas: connectivity, clean energy and critical raw materials.
Internet and energy infrastructure to be strengthened
The investment plan also includes increasing Greenland’s satellite capacity. The aim is to provide settlements in the north of the island with immediate access to high-speed internet and to offer faster internet service to remote settlements in the east starting in October.
Noting that Greenland has significant hydropower potential, von der Leyen said support would be provided for new hydropower plants. The plan aims to strengthen energy security and independence by increasing domestic energy production, while also developing clean industries such as renewable hydrogen.
Projects for critical raw materials to receive support
Von der Leyen said Greenland’s natural resources should generate added value, jobs and growth for the country. She said the Malmbjerg molybdenum mine project could become one of Greenland’s largest investments and could provide the country with up to €90 million in added value annually.
The EU will also provide financing for the preparatory phase of the Amitsoq graphite project. These steps are expected to help develop Greenland’s critical raw materials sector.
€530 million proposal for long-term financing
Von der Leyen said the EU had proposed more than doubling the funding allocated to Greenland in its next long-term budget, raising it to €530 million through 2034. Under the plan, housing, local businesses, sustainable tourism and educational programs for young people will also receive support. It also envisages increasing the participation of young Greenlanders in the Erasmus program.
Von der Leyen said the people of Greenland and Denmark would decide Greenland’s future, adding that territorial integrity, sovereignty and the inviolability of borders are fundamental principles of international law. She said geopolitical competition in the Arctic was intensifying and announced that the EU’s new Arctic strategy, which envisions a stronger partnership with the region, would be unveiled in the fall.
Greenland and Denmark seek to strengthen partnership
Jens-Frederik Nielsen recalled that the declaration establishing the general framework for relations between the EU and Greenland had been signed in 2015. Noting that the world had changed significantly over the past 10 years, Nielsen said the parties faced new challenges that they could not overcome alone.
“Greenland needs the EU, and the EU needs Greenland,” Nielsen said, adding that the new declaration would benefit both sides. Frederiksen said the partnership between Greenland and the EU had been elevated to a higher level.
Frederiksen said interest in the Arctic was growing, adding that Europe would not stand by as these developments unfolded and that common security needed to be strengthened. She announced that 10 allies would take part in the Arctic Shield exercise in the coming days with land, sea and air forces.
Trump’s remarks heighten tensions
Responding to a question about how U.S. President Donald Trump would react to the agreements, Frederiksen said the Kingdom of Denmark was a sovereign state and a member of both the EU and NATO. She said Denmark was under pressure and expressed satisfaction with the support from European partners and from around the world.
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, has become the subject of tensions between Washington, Copenhagen and Brussels because of Trump’s remarks about seeking control of the island. Trump argues that Greenland is of strategic importance to U.S. security, while the governments of Denmark and Greenland emphasize that the island is not for sale. The EU administration says decisions about the island’s future belong to the people of Denmark and Greenland.
