Greenland’s foreign minister has suggested the European Union could develop its coveted mineral resources amid threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to seize the island.
With its vast caches of rare earths and strategic location in the Arctic, Greenland — a self-ruling Danish territory with a population of around 60,000 — has became an increasingly important geopolitical player whose global profile has been elevated by Trump’s aggressive overtures.
Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt told POLITICO in an exclusive interview during a diplomatic trip to Brussels that she wanted to deepen “bilateral” ties with the EU, and singled out Greenland’s precious minerals as an area to join forces.
“They get some fish from us, and on the other side we have a free market, we can export to the EU without any extra costs,” she said. “But today, we want to expand our cooperation based on not only fisheries, we want to expand our cooperation on our critical minerals and energy.”
“That’s what Greenland has, and the rest of the world, our like-minded countries, need a greener future, renewable energy,” she added.
Buried deep in Greenland’s icy terrain are around 40 of the 50 critical minerals that the U.S. deems vital to its national security. The resources, from uranium to graphite, are crucial to manufacturing and global supply chains — though Greenland’s stores are largely unexplored and untapped.
Its mineral wealth means the island has the answer to “a very key question” that could bring about “strengthened cooperation with the EU,” Motzfeldt said.
“Of course, we want to have cooperation with our critical minerals with our like-minded countries, and [the] EU is a good partner, we like them,” she said.
The Greenlandic politician, who met with High Representative Kaja Kallas on Thursday, invited members of the European Union’s executive to tour the island. “All the commissioners who want to come and visit us are more than welcome,” she said.
With friends like these
Motzfeldt also lashed out at the Trump administration over news of U.S. spying on Greenland, following reporting in The Wall Street Journal last week that American intelligence agencies had been directed to gather information on the island.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen subsequently summoned the American ambassador to lodge a protest and demand answers.
“We’re supposed to be friends. We are allies. Allies don’t do such things,” Motzfeldt said. “The situation is new to us, and new to the rest of the world, because you don’t do … that to your ally.”
The alleged undercover activities are the latest chapter in an American pressure campaign that began with Trump’s refusal to rule out acquiring Greenland using military force, and that has seen the president’s eldest son and Vice President JD Vance dispatched to the island.
“It is a threat as soon as you start to talk about military occupation,” Motzfeldt said when asked whether Trump’s saber-rattling posed a credible danger to Greenland. “Of course they can come and visit us … and we have long wished to have more cooperation with the United States … But on a different rhetoric, on a reliable way.”
Trump has cited rivalries with Russia and China for Arctic supremacy as reasons for coveting Greenland, and said America’s taking ownership of the island was vital to both U.S. and “international security.”
Washington used to have some dozen military installations in Greenland but now has only one, Pituffik Space Base, located in the island’s frozen far north.
Motzfeldt said she was open to having more U.S. army bases on Greenlandic soil and more American investments in Greenland’s fledgling mining sector — just not a takeover.
“United States security is our security. We have the same interests,” she said. “And according to our defense agreement, it’s already possible to build more bases, or if you want to, invest in our mining, it’s already possible. But what is not possible is to buy us.”
Greenland was once a part of the EU but withdrew following a referendum in 1985 — yet Brussels has been a reliable partner in “challenging times,” Motzfeldt said.
“We have seen the EU supporting Greenland,” she said. “Our cooperation with the EU is important, and today it’s more important [than] ever … The situation today demands that we stand together.”
Greenland dangles rare earths partnership with EU as Trump looms
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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