Greenland dispute ‘strategic wake-up call,’ says Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday a standoff with the United States over Greenland was “a strategic wake-up call for all of Europe”, speaking alongside the leaders of Denmark and the Danish autonomous territory. European powers have sought to join forces to show they can stand on their own feet after US President Donald Trump has roiled the transatlantic alliance by threatening to seize Greenland.
Speaking alongside the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland, Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Macron said the “awakening” must focus “on asserting our European sovereignty, on our contribution to Arctic security, on the fight against foreign interference and disinformation, and on the fight against global warming.” He reaffirmed to Frederiksen and Nielsen France’s solidarity and “its commitment to your sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “France will continue to defend these principles in accordance with the United Nations Charter,” he added, expressing his support for increased Nato engagement in the Arctic.
Macron said some words in the Indigenous Greenlandic language, and then switching to the Danish language told the premier France would “be side-by-side” with the “Kingdom of Denmark”. After European pushback, Trump backed down on the threat to take Greenland by military force. Speaking in Paris earlier on Wednesday, Frederiksen said that Europe needed to improve its defences “now” to become less reliant on the United States for military protection.
On Monday, Nato chief Mark Rutte told EU lawmakers to “keep on dreaming” if they thought Europe could defend itself without the US. In response to Rutte’s comments, Frederiksen conceded it would be “extremely difficult” for Europe to defend itself right now. “Because when you look at intelligence, nuclear weapons, and so on, we depend on the US,” she said at Sciences Po university. “But I think we’re able to do more than what is being said publicly right now.” As for a 2035 target to ramp up spending on Nato, she said: “I’m sorry to say it would be too late.” “I think rearming ourselves now is the most important thing.”
Nato members committed to raising defence and security spending last year to five per cent of their economic output, following on from an earlier target of two per cent by 2024, after pressure from the US government. Fredriksen said Europe had made a “big mistake” by cutting military budgets in the past. Nato members committed to raising defence and security spending last year to 5 per cent of their economic output, following on from an earlier target of 2 per cent by 2024, after pressure from the US government.
Europe must step up efforts on defence and play a bigger role in Nato as US President Donald Trump has “shaken the transatlantic relationship to its foundation”, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday. Trump rocked European allies this month by threatening to seize Greenland from Nato and EU member Denmark — before eventually backing off.
The crisis — the latest to buffet ties since his return to power a year ago — has reinforced calls for the continent to cut its decades-long reliance on Nato’s dominant military superpower for protection. “Let me be clear: we want strong transatlantic ties. The US will remain Europe’s partner and ally. But Europe needs to adapt to the new realities. Europe is no longer Washington’s primary centre of gravity,” Kallas told a defence conference in Brussels. “This shift has been ongoing for a while. It is structural, not temporary. It means that Europe must step up — no great power in history has outsourced its survival and survived.”
Kallas remained clear-eyed that Nato remains the bedrock of European security. She said EU efforts should “remain complementary” to those of the alliance, but insisted Europe needed to play a bigger role. “Especially now, as the US is setting its sights beyond Europe, Nato needs to become more European to maintain its strength,” she said. “For this, Europe must act.”
European countries have already ramped up defence budgets since Russia invaded Ukraine, and agreed last year to massively hike Nato’s spending target under pressure from Trump. The EU last year also launched a raft of initiatives that it says could see its members plough an additional 800 billion euros into defence. Washington meanwhile has said it wants European allies to take over more responsibility for the conventional defence of the continent as US focus switches to other threats.