The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Mineral Resources of Greenland, Múte Bourup Egede, emphasized this Wednesday that “the times” when one could simply “take a country” have come to an end, while he stressed that the conversations with the United States to channel the situation arising from the American claims over the territory “are ongoing.”

“That in 2026 someone believes they can simply take a country. Those times are over and we must respond that those times are over,” Egede stated in a joint debate of the Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Development (DEVE) committees of the European Parliament, held this Wednesday.

Before the MEPs, the head of Greenlandic diplomacy detailed that Greenland and Denmark have formed a group of high-ranking officials with the United States that works to address the issue. Although he did not want to reveal the content of the conversations, he did emphasize that “the dialogue continues.”

Egede also expressed his recognition for the support received from the member states, the European Commission, and the European Parliament against the pressures from Washington, assuring that this backing has had a “real” impact on the Arctic island and has sent “a strong message” to the United States that “interfering with Greenland also means interfering with the entire European Union.”

In this context, the minister has urged Greenland and its European partners to “be together” in a situation where “autocrats” gain influence and democratic principles are questioned.

“We must be together to protect our values,” he maintained, warning that if the countries that share those values do not remain united, not only the future of Greenland will be at risk, but also the international order based on norms and the “common future.”

Greenland cools a possible return to the EU

Asked by MEPs about a potential return of Greenland to the European Union, four decades after its departure, Egede avoided taking a closed position and indicated that “it is not appropriate” to adopt a definitive stance now.

However, he acknowledged that the “great administrative burden” associated with full membership would be very complicated to assume for the limited administrative structure of a territory with barely 56,000 inhabitants.

For this reason, the minister has shown support for not reopening that debate for the moment and for focusing on strengthening and expanding the current “strategic partnership” that links Greenland with the community bloc in areas such as raw materials, education, and the fight against climate change.

In particular, he has advocated for deepening the existing cooperation with the EU, which started focused on fishing and has been expanding to other fields such as education, raw materials, the environment, and climate change.

In relation to NATO, Egede has predicted that the Alliance’s role in the Arctic “will become stronger” in light of the current geopolitical context and has defended the importance of allies demonstrating that they remain cohesive in the face of other great powers.

More European presence in raw materials and infrastructure

Egede has pointed out critical raw materials as one of the priority areas in which Greenland aspires to deepen its relationship with the EU and has called for European investments to advance in mapping the subsoil of the territory, of which around 60% is still unknown.

He has also requested the involvement of European companies that commit to purchasing the raw materials extracted in Greenland, which would allow the territory to develop this industry and, at the same time, would help ensure the supply of critical minerals for the European Union. “If there are no European companies, there are other interested parties,” he warned.

The minister has pointed out that Greenland’s goal is to diversify an economy in which 97% of exports currently come from fish, with the aim of turning raw materials and tourism into two new economic pillars.

Likewise, he has called for European capital to improve connectivity, telecommunications, and other essential infrastructures, reminding that the 56,000 inhabitants of the territory dependent on Denmark live spread out in localities without land connections between them and depend almost entirely on maritime and air transport.