On Tuesday 6 May, many Members of the European Parliament stressed that the future of Greenland belonged to the Greenlanders, while the American President, Donald Trump, has his sights set on the autonomous Danish territory.
“The future of Greenland must be decided in Nuuk”, stressed Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Danish) and Villy Søvndal (Greens/EFA, Danish). “Greenland is not for sale, the EU must reject blackmail, pillage and threats, and support the will of the Greenlandic people, who have reiterated their attachment to their independence”, summed up Emma Fourreau (The Left, French).
For his part, Kristoffer Storm (Danish), speaking on behalf of the ECR, deplored the fact that the European Parliament had not reacted more forcefully to the American threats. “When we are threatened by a superpower, there is no reaction. We have to do something about it in the European Parliament”, he pleaded. Emma Fourreau also regretted that the European Commission had not reacted to the American threats.
Several MEPs also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the EU and the autonomous Danish island. Stine Bosse (Renew Europe, Danish) called for the EU to “invest funds and efforts in developing cooperation”. According to the EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas, “EU support is by far the largest among Greenland’s international partners, accounting for around 4% of the government’s budget” and helping it to “pursue its own objectives, whether in education, green growth, including sustainable raw materials and renewable energy, or security and connectivity”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)