From Trump’s takeover threats to a ‘northern neighborhood,’ why the EU chief is going to Greenland

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Greenland's capital on Sunday, seeking to shore up support for the Arctic island against a backdrop of repeated threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The EU chief is widely expected to announce fresh funding for the self-governing Danish territory, when she makes her second trip to Nuuk, in the company of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
It comes shortly after Icelanders voted to reject restarting EU membership negotiations and as Trump renews his push to acquire Greenland on national security grounds.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen made a thinly veiled reference to Trump's pursuit to acquire the island ahead of Von der Leyen's visit.
"The EU has made clear its support for us in the geopolitical situation, while responding to our desire for even greater partnership. I look very much forward to the coming days and to share more about the importance of the Joint Declaration for Greenland," Nielsen said in a statement shared with CNBC.
Analysts highlighted three key reasons for Von der Leyen's Greenland visit: Arctic security, economic and infrastructure investment and broader cooperation in the North Atlantic and wider Arctic theater.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, did not respond to a CNBC request for comment ahead of Von der Leyen's visit. A spokesperson for Denmark's Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
Arctic security
The EU chief's trip to Nuuk serves as a show of solidarity to both Greenland and Denmark at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, according to Kristina Spohr, professor in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics.
"We must never lose sight with what's going on with Russia and China. By that, I don't just mean the sabotage activity and hybrid warfare that we see, and the focus has now been on Germany, but actually again we have question marks over Russian trawlers around Svalbard," Spohr told CNBC by video call.
"We also see that the Chinese and Russians are doing dual-use scientific action in the Chukchi Sea, through the Bering Strait further north. And, of course, America has said they must not enter American national waters."
These security concerns also extend to the so-called GIUK gap, Spohr said, referring to a strategic maritime passage between Greenland, Iceland and the U.K. that links the Arctic to the Atlantic Ocean.
"So, it's very, very volatile … when actually one of our most important allies in the global scheme of things, the United States, is making life incredibly difficult, especially when it comes to Greenland and Denmark," she added.
Trump has long advocated for control of Greenland, a vast, sparsely populated and largely frozen island, but the U.S. president's fixation on the territory became a major trans-Atlantic issue at the start of the year.
Trump, who had refused to rule out the use of military force to annex Greenland, abruptly announced in late January, however, that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had formed a "framework of a future deal" with respect to the territory.
A working group of representatives from the U.S., Denmark and Greenland have since been meeting to discuss the way forward.
Local investment
The EU's Greenland funding package for 2026 and 2027, which the Financial Times reported may amount to 200 million euros ($232.4 million), could target areas such as critical minerals, renewable energy and undersea cables, among other priorities.
Von der Leyen had previously opened the European Commission's office in Nuuk in March 2024, establishing a permanent European presence in the country. The EU chief also signed cooperation agreements worth close to 94 million euros at the time.
"There are several layers but the one layer we should never forget is the Greenland-Denmark relationship," Andreas Raspotnik, senior fellow at The Arctic Institute think tank, told CNBC by telephone.
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"The approach now is very clear: What can we really do? We can invest, we can offer support on pre-agreed issues such as infrastructure, investments in education and increasing our presence there."
Jozef Síkela, the EU's commissioner for international partnerships, recently highlighted some of the EU's investments in Greenland during a gathering to discuss Arctic affairs in Brussels.
"The EU has invested in Arctic education, fisheries and sustainable tourism for decades. €372 million into Arctic research through Horizon, €273 million through Interreg," Síkela said Tuesday at the EU Arctic Forum. "We are not newcomers here. But today's environment demands more," he added.
'Northern neighborhood'
Von der Leyen's visit to Greenland is also seen as a prime opportunity for the EU to coordinate closely with regional leaders on issues such as defense and economic resilience, particularly given the bloc is in the process of updating its Arctic policy.
"I think that the strategic thinking is changing in Brussels as they consider how they can even better include Greenland into, maybe you want to call it the northern neighborhood," Raspotnik said.
"I hear that term as well now, you know, we have an eastern neighborhood, we have a southern neighborhood but how can we define the north? And by north, that means Iceland, it means Canada and it means the U.K.," he continued.
"How can we more strategically think about these partners, those states that are outside the EU in the north?"
Greenland is scheduled to host on Monday a biannual national meeting with Denmark's Frederiksen and Faroese Premier Beinir Johannesen.
"These times commit us to working closely together. Like being three people in the same boat, we must row together and ensure a common direction that is the way it is in the current system," Nielsen said.

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