SPANISH prime minister Pedro Sanchez and seven other top European leaders have joined forces to rebuke President Trump over his remarks about annexing the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.
The US president has made repeated threats against the mineral-rich Arctic island, telling the media that acquiring Greenland constitutes a ‘national security priority’ for his administration.
But Trump’s rhetoric – and a refusal to rule out using the US military to seize the island – has put him at odds with top European and NATO officials.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the leaders of Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the UK and Denmark insisted that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people.
“Arctic security remains a key priority for Europe and it is critical for international and transatlantic security,” the statement read.
“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up. We and many other Allies have increased our presence, activities and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and deter adversaries. The Kingdom of Denmark – including Greenland – is part of NATO.
“Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in conjunction with NATO allies including the United States, by upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. These are universal principles, and we will not stop defending them.”
The statement concluded: “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
In a post on X, Spain’s prime minister urged the US president to learn from the lessons of history.
“Spain reiterates, together with Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom, its firm support for Denmark and the people of Greenland,” he wrote.
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“Respect for the sovereignty of countries is essential for peace. That was the greatest lesson the 20th century left us. Let us not forget it.”
Some 80 per cent of Greenland is covered in ice and the island – the largest in the world that is not a continent – is home to just approximately 56,000 people.
Traditionally, Greenland’s economy has been based on fishing – but in recent years interest has spiked in its natural resources, including mining for rare earth minerals, uranium and iron.
These precious resources may become more accessible as global warming leads to the melting of the massive ice sheet that covers the island.
Valuable natural resources have been at the forefront of Trump’s foreign policy, including his recent intervention in Venezuela and mediation in the Russia-Ukraine war.
But the White House instead says the US wants the island for national security reasons, amid fears that American enemies such as Russia and China are already staking a claim to the region’s rare earth production.
Sanchez’s criticism of Trump’s threats towards Greenland came on the same day as the Spanish premier separately slammed the United States for its unprecedented military assault on Venezuela, which led to the capture of the South American country’s socialist leader, Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking to reporters in Paris, Sanchez said the move set a ‘terrible and very dangerous precedent’ – and suggested Washington’s sole aim appeared to be the appropriation of Venezuela’s rich oil reserves.
“Spain never recognised the Maduro government because it broke the rules, because his election was illegitimate,” said Sanchez, who welcomed the exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez to Madrid in 2024 after a disputed election many international commentators believe was stolen by Maduro.
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He added: “And precisely for that reason it cannot recognise the legitimacy of a military action that is clearly illegal, that violates international law and whose sole objective seems to be none other than to change the government of another country to seize its natural resources.”
Maduro and his wife were abducted by elite US Delta Force soldiers in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning in an operation hailed by Trump as ‘extraordinary’ and ‘like a TV show’.
In a press conference after the assault, Trump announced that the US will run the country for an unspecified transitional period.
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