EU official proposes stationing forces in Greenland

Top EU military official Robert Brieger has stated that deploying EU troops in Greenland would be a sensible move, especially given US President Donald Trump's interest in acquiring the Danish territory.

"In my view, it would make perfect sense not only to station US forces in Greenland, as has been the case to date, but also to consider stationing EU soldiers there in the future," the chairman of the European Union Military Committee said in an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag published on January 25, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

In the end, such a move would require a political decision, according to the Austrian-born general. The military committee, the highest military body of the European Council, functions as a consultative entity since the EU does not have its own standing army. NATO, led by the US, remains the EU's primary military alliance.

Although Greenland is not an EU member, being an overseas territory of Denmark, the general noted that both Europeans and the US have interests in the island due to its natural resources and strategic location. 

"However, with increasing ice melt as a result of climate change, this also creates a certain potential for tension with Russia and possibly China," he said. 

Trump has shown interest in acquiring Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, as part of the US. He has not dismissed the possibility of using military or economic pressure to convince Denmark to transfer ownership. 

Greenland's strategic position along the shortest route from Europe to North America, crucial for the US ballistic missile warning system, has made it a key priority for Trump.

On January 7, 2025, Trump stated that Greenland should join the US. He threatened to impose high trade tariffs on Denmark if it refused to cede the island. During his first term as president, Trump also proposed purchasing Greenland, a suggestion that was rejected by Danish and Greenlandic authorities.

By Naila Huseynova