EU to boost Greenland investment amid Trump annexation claims

… European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Greenland on September 6, 2026 © Mads Claus Rasmussen, Ritzau Scanpix, AFP </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="t-content__body u-clearfix"> <p><a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/european-commission/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">European Commission</a> President Ursula von der ​Leyen is expected to unveil on Monday a boost in EU investments in <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/greenland/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Greenland</a> and closer political ties with the Danish <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/arctic/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Arctic</a> territory, which <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/donald-trump/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Donald Trump</a> has insisted should belong to the United States.</p> <p>Von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday for ​a two-day visit ‌serving as a show of support for the governments of Greenland and <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/denmark/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Denmark</a>, which have ⁠strongly rebuffed Trump’s campaign to annex the world’s largest island.</p> <p>The head of the 27-nation <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/european-union/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">European Union</a>'s executive body, von der Leyen is expected to unveil plans to invest in ‌sectors including critical <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/minerals/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">minerals</a>, satellite communications and renewable <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/energy/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">energy</a> in Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of the Danish realm.</p> <p class="a-read-more"><span class="a-read-more__label">Read more</span><a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260831-nato-arctic-activity-direct-threat-russia-lavrov" class="a-read-more__link">NATO's Arctic activity poses 'direct threat' to Russia, Lavrov warns</a></p> <p>On ⁠Sunday in Nuuk, the capital, von der Leyen said the package would be "substantial" but gave no details. Greenland Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen said his country wanted to build on its "close friendship and good partnership" with the EU.</p> <p>Von ​der Leyen's visit reflects the increasing geopolitical importance of the Arctic to major powers, such ‌as the United States, <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/russia/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Russia</a>, <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/china/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">China</a> and <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/europe/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Europe</a>, as melting ice opens new <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/shipping/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">shipping</a> routes to make the region’s mineral wealth more accessible.</p> <p>"Greenland's stunning landscapes and natural beauty will stay with me for a long time. But so will the visible scars of <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/climate-change/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">climate change</a> on ‌the ice sheet," von der Leyen posted on X after a boat trip under clear blue skies in a fjord scattered with chunks of ice.</p> <p>"As the ice melts, ​a new reality is taking shape." </p> <p>Trump, the US president, sparked a crisis in US-European ties and turmoil within the transatlantic NATO military alliance this year when he stepped up his demands for the ​US to control Greenland, arguing that fellow <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/nato/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">NATO</a> member Denmark could not defend it.</p> <p class="a-read-more"><span class="a-read-more__label">Read more</span><a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260810-tensions-in-the-arctic-greenland-issues-sharp-rebuke-to-trump-linked-oil-company" class="a-read-more__link">Tensions in the Arctic: Greenland issues sharp rebuke to Trump-linked oil company</a></p> <p>European officials stressed Greenland is part of ​NATO territory, meaning it is covered by the alliance’s mutual <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/defence/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">defence</a> pact, and that the ​US already has the right to increase its <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/military/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">military</a> presence there under a longstanding treaty.</p> <p>Tensions lowered after Trump and NATO boss <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/mark-rutte/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Mark Rutte</a> agreed in Davos in January that the ​United States, Denmark and Greenland would begin talks to resolve their differences and NATO would step up its role in Arctic security.</p> <p>However, the trilateral <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/talks/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">talks</a> have yet to yield an agreement and, at a NATO summit in <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/turkey/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">Turkey</a> in July, Trump restated his insistence that the US should control Greenland.</p> <p>While Denmark is a member of the EU, Greenland left the bloc in 1985. But ⁠its people, as Danish citizens, are also citizens of the EU.</p> <p>The EU has long provided funding to Greenland, mainly to pay for fishing rights and ⁠support its <a target="_self" href="https://www.france24.com/en/tag/education/" class="gtm-add-suggested-tag">education</a> system. ​The package to be announced by von der Leyen will represent not only a big increase in funding but a broadening of the sectors that will receive EU cash, according to EU officials.</p> <p><em>(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)</em></p> …