US attempt to take Greenland by force would mark end of Nato, EU defence commissioner warns
Meanwhile, EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius warned that it would be the end of Nato if the US took Greenland by force, as he stressed that EU members would also be under obligation to come to Denmark’s assistance, Reuters reported.
“I agree with the Danish prime minister that it will be the end of Nato, but also among people it will be also very, very negative,” commissioner Kubilius told Reuters at a security conference in Sweden.
Kubilius also said that the European Union Treaty article 42.7 obliged member states to come to Denmark’s assistance if faced with military aggression.
“It will depend on very much on Denmark, how they will react, what will be their position, but definitely there is such an obligation of member states to come for mutual assistance if another member state is facing military aggression,” he said.
Key events
US ownership of Greenland ‘psychologically important for me,’ Trump says
US president Donald Trump also spoke further about Greenland in his New York Times interview published on Sunday ($).
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he insisted that he wanted to resolve the issue “properly” with the US taking ownership of the territory as it was “psychologically needed for success,” saying that “ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document, that you can have a base.”
He said it was “psychologically important for me.”
“Now, maybe another president would feel differently, but so far I’ve been right about everything.”
When asked if he would move to deploy US troops to Greenland, he said he “didn’t think it’d be necessary,” although earlier he also said he “would have more” troops there if needed.
Swiss bar owner formally remanded in custody for three months – media reports
We are also getting a line from Switzerland, with the SRF News reporting that the co-owner of the La Consellation bar has been formally remanded in custody over the New Year’s Eve fire that killed 40 people.
The news, confirmed by other Swiss media, says that he has been placed in custody for three months.
He was first detained on Friday, but the arrest had to be formally confirmed by the court, and this is what is reported today.
Greenland should be offered EU membership to fend off Trump’s interest, former German vice-chancellor says
Former German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck has suggested that Greenland should be offered an EU membership to fend off Donald Trump’s interest in the territory.
Writing for the Guardian with Andreas Raspotnik, the director of the High North Center for Business and Governance at Nord University, Habeck said:
“As debates increasingly revolve around acquiring – or even occupying – the island, Europe’s lack of a counterproposal is striking.
This should be the moment to explicitly offer EU membership to Greenland, and by extension to the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway – an idea recently raised in the European parliament.
Greenland withdrew from the then European Communities in 1985 after gaining home rule from Denmark in 1979, but in an entirely altered world, attitudes have changed and Europe should respond accordingly.
A proposal to Greenland could be pragmatic and phased: EU membership by 2026 or 2027; early agreement on key issues such as fisheries, with renegotiation after five to 10 years; a substantial investment package targeting infrastructure and sustainable extraction of critical raw materials; and a clear commitment to preserving Inuit culture, language and local decision-making.”
Danish meeting with US senators ‘good news,’ opportunity to ‘get some truths on table,’ lawmaker says
Chair of the Danish parliament’s Greenland committee, Aaja Chemnitz, told reporters that the planned meeting with US senators was “good news” as it was “important for us to use all the diplomatic connections we have at our disposal.”
Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician sitting in the Danish parliament, said there were “lots” of incorrect claims about Greenland, and “it is absolutely crucial we get some truths on the table.”
But she declined to give more information about the meeting, saying the details are yet to be fully decided.
Two key meetings on Greenland’s relations with Denmark, US coming up this week
Miranda Bryant
Nordic correspondent
in Nuuk, Greenland
In a week that could prove crucial to the future of Greenland, relations between the US, Denmark and Greenland, and the very existence of Nato, there are now two key meetings coming up.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, are due to meet the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in Washington.
And it was announced last night that a group of US senators, including Alaska senator, Lisa Murkowski, are to visit Copenhagen to meet politicians from the Danish parliament’s Greenland committee.
Murkowski wrote on X on Friday:
“We have a lot to do in 2026. Taking Greenland shouldn’t be on that list.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has continued to pile pressure on the situation, saying last night that “Greenland should make an agreement” to avoid Russia or China taking over. He also inaccurately claimed that Greenland’s defence consists of two dog sleds (9:41).
China criticises Trump’s Greenland interest
Somewhat unexpectedly, China criticised the US for its interest in Greenland, urging it not to use other countries as an excuse to pursue its own interests, Reuters reported.
“The Arctic concerns the overall interests of the international community,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference.
She said China’s activities in the Arctic aim to promote peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region.
Mao also called for respecting the rights and freedoms of all nations to conduct lawful activities in the Arctic.
What can the EU and Nato do to stop Trump from trying to claim Greenland?
Jon Henley
Europe correspondent
European leaders have strongly defended sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right of Greenland and Denmark to decide on matters concerning them, but there is as yet no clear strategy on how to deter Trump – or respond if he does make a move.
Jon Henley has looked at some of the options, ranging from diplomacy and raising Arctic security through economic sanctions, fast-tracked investment to the deployment of troops.
Morning opening: ‘If it affects Nato, it affects Nato’
Jakub Krupa
US president Donald Trump has repeated overnight that the US would take Greenland “one way or the other,” as he mocked its defence as “two dog sleds,” and stressed that otherwise Russia and China would move to claim the territory.
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said that he was open to making a deal on Greenland in principle, but insisted “one way or the other, we are going to have Greenland.”
“If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will, and I’m not letting that happen,” he said, despite no obvious interest in taking complete control of the territory from either of the two countries.
Trump also mocked Greenland’s defence saying it consists of “two dog sleds,” facing Russian and Chinese “destroyers and submarines all over the place.”
Asked about the potential impact on Nato, Trump shrugged it off, saying:
“If it affects Nato, it affects Nato. But you know, they need us much more than we need them.”
He also claimed that he “saved” the alliance by pushing for increased defence spending, and said he was working on ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(Our usual sympathies go to the Danish Trump night watcher, who had to watch this and report back to the country’s authorities.)
His comments came hours after the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, warned that Denmark is at a “fateful moment” amid Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, accusing the US of potentially turning its back on Nato.
“We are at a crossroads, and this is a fateful moment,” said Frederiksen.
“What is at stake is bigger than what the eye can see, because if what we experience from the Americans is that they are actually turning their backs on the western alliance, that they are turning their backs on our Nato cooperation by threatening an ally, which we have not experienced before, then everything will stop.”
I will bring you all the latest on this as we slowly build up to US state secretary Marco Rubio’s meeting with Danish and Greenlandic ministers on Wednesday. I will also look at the latest in Ukraine and across the continent.
It’s Monday, 12 January 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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