Trump’s statements about taking control of Greenland are “serious”, according to the territory’s head of government Múte B. Egede. He also underlines that the country belongs to the Greenlanders and not to anyone else.
During a press conference, Trump confirmed that he does not rule out using economic or military pressure to take control of the Danish territory of Greenland. He justified this by saying that US control of the area would “protect the free world“.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte B. Egede spoke briefly about Trump’s statement when he landed in Copenhagen yesterday.
– Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. I just want to repeat that, was the first thing he said to the Danish state newspaper DR, something he had previously repeated a number of times when Trump raised his ambitions for American control over Greenland.
– I think the things that have come out are serious statements, but we’ll take it from there, Egede continued, also declaring that Greenland and its people “are not for sale and never will be“.
Response from the EU
If Trump were to use trade tariffs to pressure Denmark over Greenland, he would face a united response from the EU. Just over a year ago, EU countries signed a pact to prevent foreign powers from using tariffs as weapons against individual member states.
– It’s something we’ve felt compelled to do, and it’s been directed at China, which has been much more covert and subtle by targeting certain exports, but not as clear a threat as this, Associate Professor Jens Ladefoged Mortensen of the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen told Danish TV2.
The title Landsstyreformand is used in Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory, to describe the leader of the Landsstyre – Greenland's government. The role is in many ways equivalent to that of a prime minister or head of government in other countries.
The position covers areas such as education, health, the environment, and business, which fall under Greenland's self-governance. Additionally, the Landsstyreformand represents the territory in international contexts.
The Landsstyreformand is typically appointed by the largest party or a coalition in the parliament. Since 2009, Greenland has had expanded self-governance, although Denmark remains responsible for areas like foreign policy and defense.
