European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to announce increased European Union investment in Greenland on Monday as the bloc seeks closer ties with the Danish Arctic territory amid President Donald Trump’s campaign to bring the island under US control.
Von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday for a two-day visit aimed at demonstrating European support for Greenland and Denmark, both of which have firmly rejected Trump’s annexation campaign.
The visit comes as the Arctic gains increasing geopolitical importance for the United States, Russia, China and Europe. Melting ice is opening potential new shipping routes and making the region’s mineral resources more accessible.
“Greenland’s stunning landscapes and natural beauty will stay with me for a long time. But so will the visible scars of climate change on the ice sheet,” von der Leyen posted on X after a boat trip through an ice-filled fjord.
“As the ice melts, a new reality is taking shape.”
Trump intensified demands for US control of Greenland earlier this year, arguing that Denmark, a fellow NATO member, was incapable of adequately defending the strategically important island.
European officials have stressed that Greenland is part of NATO territory and therefore falls under the alliance’s mutual defence commitment. They have also pointed out that the United States already has the right to expand its military presence in Greenland under a longstanding defence agreement.
Tensions eased after Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte agreed in Davos in January that the United States, Denmark and Greenland would hold talks to resolve their differences, while NATO would strengthen its role in Arctic security.
However, the trilateral talks have yet to produce an agreement. Trump reiterated his demand for US control of Greenland at a NATO summit in Turkey in July.
Although Denmark is an EU member, Greenland left the bloc in 1985. Greenlanders, however, remain Danish citizens and therefore EU citizens.
The EU has long provided financial support to Greenland, particularly through funding linked to fishing rights and education.
According to EU officials, von der Leyen’s new package will significantly increase that funding while expanding the number of sectors eligible for European investment.
The initiative is expected to deepen the EU’s economic and political engagement with Greenland as competition over the Arctic’s strategic position, shipping routes and natural resources intensifies.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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