New
opinion poll shows 85% of Greenlanders do not want to join US
Despite
Donald Trump claiming the island’s population ‘want to be with us’,
Greenlanders overwhelmingly rejected the idea
Miranda
Bryant Nordic correspondent and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Tue 28 Jan
2025 23.49 CET
A new
opinion poll shows 85% of Greenlanders do not want their island to become a
part of the United States, after Donald Trump called for the US to take control
of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
Since his
re-election, Trump has reiterated his interest in acquiring the Arctic island,
which is controlled by Denmark but has a large degree of autonomy.
Speaking
onboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said: “I think we’re going to have
it,” and claimed that the Arctic island’s 57,000 residents “want to be with
us”.
But a new
survey by pollster Verian, commissioned by the Danish paper Berlingske, showed
only 6% of Greenlanders are in favour of becoming part of the US, with 9%
undecided.
The new poll
came as Denmark’s prime minister said Europe must “stand together” in the face
of changing relations with the US during a whistle-stop tour of Berlin, Paris
and Brussels.
After
meeting the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Mette Frederiksen said: “I want to
ensure that all of Europe stands together. Not only in connection with the
kingdom of Denmark but also more broadly.”
Frederiksen,
who also met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, added: “Everyone in Europe
can see that it will be a different collaboration with the USA now.
“At least
these are the tones we hear from Washington in relation to trade and economic
cooperation. What the consequences of that are, we don’t know yet.”
Scholz said
that “borders must not be moved by force”.
Speaking
ahead of her final stop of the day in Brussels, where she planned to meet the
Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, she also said she was working “very, very
hard right now” to look after Denmark’s interests.
“Regardless
of what happens in the USA, Europe must stand stronger in its own right,” the
Social Democrat leader added.
Trump has
refused to rule out using military force to take the Arctic island, part of the
kingdom of Denmark, which continues to control Greenland’s foreign policy and
defence.
He appeared
to double down on his geopolitical ambitions over the weekend, declaring: “I
think we’re going to have [Greenland].” He was reported to have threatened
Denmark with tariffs.
Asked if she
would speak to Trump again, Frederiksen said she would not “go into concrete
calendar gymnastics” but added: “The dialogue we have with the Americans takes
place on several different channels and levels.”
At their
joint press conference in Berlin on Tuesday, neither Scholz nor Frederiksen
mentioned Trump or Greenland, but it seemed clear the issue was on their minds.
After
speaking about Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and how
“inviolability of borders is a fundamental principle of international law,”
Scholz said: “The principle must apply to everyone. I made that clear again
from this point a few days ago. Borders must not be moved by force.”
Switching to
English, he added: “To whom it may concern.”
Frederiksen
said Europe was facing a “more uncertain reality” that called for greater
cooperation.
“We need a
stronger and more resolute Europe standing increasingly in its own right,
capable of defending and promoting Europe and the European interests,” she
said. “We have to take more responsibility for our own security.”
EU leaders
will hold their first summit dedicated to defence next Monday, to discuss
funding and new military capabilities. Defence has risen up the agenda since
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the return of Trump, who has previously said
he would encourage Russia to attack Nato allies considered not to be paying
their fair share, has made the issue more urgent.
So far most
EU leaders have refrained from commenting directly on Trump’s incendiary
comments about Greenland, which sources said was a deliberate strategy. A
senior EU official said it had been decided “not to go for a tit-for-tat
because it is not seen as helpful”.
They added:
“One of the challenges of the new administration will be the united reply [from
the EU] but also to know when to reply, or are we just escalating a
confrontation?”
The previous
24 hours had brought a raft of announcements – including on defence and
tackling racism against Greenlandic people in Denmark – by the Danish
government, aimed at appeasing Greenlanders and the US.
It has been
a challenging January for Frederiksen, as Denmark has been singled out by the
US and publicly threatened not just with tariffs but potential military
intervention over Greenland.
On Sunday
night, amid leaks of her reportedly “horrendous” 45-minute call with the US
president, she put on a show of Nordic unity by sharing a photo on social media
of a cosy-looking dinner at a kitchen table with the Norwegian prime minister,
Jonas Gahr Støre, the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and the Finnish
president, Alexander Stubb.
Plans
announced by Denmark this week include a 14.6bn krone (£1.65bn, $2bn) agreement
with Greenland and the Faroe Islands to “improve surveillance and sovereignty
assertion in the regions”.
The plans
include three new Arctic ships that can carry helicopters and drones, two
long-range drones that can acquire detailed images over long distances, and
improved “satellite capacity” to monitor the Arctic and northern Atlantic.
Trump has
previously ridiculed Denmark’s defence plans for Greenland. By boosting
spending, Copenhagen will hope to demonstrate that it is capable of defending
the island.
The Danish
government said the agreement would also enable more young people in Greenland
– which has a population of 57,000 – to gain skills “to take responsibility for
preparedness and asserting sovereignty”.
The Inuit
Circumpolar Council, the body that represents all Inuit from Alaska, Canada,
Chukotka and Greenland, said the last few weeks had shown how important the
Arctic was to the international agenda. However, it warned, there was “no such
thing as the better coloniser”.
“We do not
wish to debate which state is better or worse to live in or is a better or
worse coloniser,” it said in a statement.
“Rather we
want to debate how we improve Inuit lives, livelihoods, wellbeing and
self-determination across all our regions.”
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