Greenland is making a “clear choice” to strengthen ties with the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday, as Brussels unveiled a €200 million investment package and moved to deepen its political, economic and security footprint in the Arctic.
Speaking in Nuuk alongside Greenlandic Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, von der Leyen cast the relationship as a two-way partnership.
The renewed EU-Greenland declaration, she said, “reflects a clear choice expressed by Greenland to strengthen ties with the European Union,” while also demonstrating Europe’s own decision “to be more present” and more engaged in Greenland and across the Arctic.
U.S. President Donald Trump has made repeated threats to take over Greenland. In July, he said that “Greenland … should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark” at the outset of a NATO summit in Turkey.
The Arctic has rapidly climbed up Brussels’ geopolitical agenda. Von der Leyen said the region had become a place “where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide,” adding that the EU has a direct stake in developments there and is preparing a new Arctic strategy for presentation this fall.
The Arctic is also expected to feature prominently in von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech next week, as Brussels prepares the revamped strategy.
She also reiterated that Greenland’s future is for the people of Greenland and Denmark to decide.
The two-day visit, which began Sunday, was aimed at turning the political message into concrete projects. A Commission official said the trip had been months in the making but was postponed at Frederiksen’s request due to Danish elections in March.
Von der Leyen signed a renewed joint declaration with Greenland and Denmark and unveiled a €200 million EU partnership package for this year and next.
At Greenlandic telecom operator Tusass, she launched a satellite connectivity project designed to improve internet access in remote communities. Brussels will also support hydropower development and work with Greenland on mining projects intended to more closely link the island’s raw materials to European industry.
The broader declaration expands cooperation into education, infrastructure, fisheries, tourism, housing, research, climate action, civil protection, cybersecurity and Arctic resilience.
Von der Leyen also pointed to the longer-term relationship, saying the Commission has proposed more than doubling EU funding for Greenland to €530 million through 2034.