For Europe, it was first a shock after which a shock. Throughout his first time period, Donald Trump had proven curiosity in shopping for Greenland, an autonomous Arctic island that’s a part of Denmark. When Mr. Trump, after returning to the White Home final yr, stated “we’re going to have Greenland by hook or by crook”, many thought he was not critical.
Trump Greenland LIVE on January 20, 2026
However after the January 3 U.S. assault on Venezuela and the seize of President Nicolas Maduro, Mr. Trump escalated his claims over Greenland. If the U.S. doesn’t take management of the island, Russia or China will, he stated. Mr. Trump’s repeated statements have thrown transatlantic cooperation into disarray. Tensions reached a brand new peak on January 17, when Mr. Trump imposed a ten% tariff on eight European international locations, together with Denmark, Germany, France and the U.Okay. He stated the tariffs can be raised to 25% on June 1 and would stay in place till the U.S.’ “full and whole buy of Greenland”.
Whereas there have been tensions in transatlantic relations prior to now — notably in the course of the Suez disaster of 1956 or the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 — that is the primary time tensions have reached the extent of open hostility. Right here what makes the present disaster extra extreme is that it was triggered by a push from the U.S., a rustic that has been Europe’s main safety guarantor because the finish of the Second World Warfare, to take management of a European territory.
Menace from inside
To put the disaster in context: Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, which is among the founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Group (NATO). NATO, arguably the world’s strongest navy alliance, is constructed on the precept of collective defence — that an assault towards one member can be thought of an assault towards all. This framework functioned successfully in the course of the Chilly Warfare as a deterrent towards the Soviet Union. European international locations have additionally offered NATO as a bulwark towards Vladimir Putin’s Russia. However right here, the menace to Denmark’s sovereignty doesn’t come from exterior the alliance, however from inside it — from NATO’s strongest member, the U.S.
On Tuesday (January 20, 2026), Mr. Trump fired off a collection of social media posts, forward of a gathering with European leaders in Davos on the sidelines of the World Financial Discussion board, saying there is no such thing as a going again on Greenland, which he stated is “crucial for nationwide and world safety”. Greenland’s location between North America and the Arctic makes it strategically positioned for early warning techniques within the occasion of missile assaults, and for monitoring vessels within the area. The island additionally has huge untapped assets. Greenland is estimated to have 36 million tonnes of uncommon earths—an space which is at the moment dominated by China.
The U.S. has a navy base on the island, known as Pituffik, the place greater than 100 personnel are completely stationed. Beneath present agreements with Denmark, the U.S. can ship as many troops because it desires to Greenland. However Mr. Trump doesn’t appear to be proud of the prevailing settlement. He desires to make the island an American territory. On Tuesday (January 20, 2026), he shared a generated picture of himself putting an American flag in Greenland beside a board that reads, “Greenland: US territory; Est. 2026”.
Between Russia and America
European leaders have protested Mr. Trump’s resolution to impose tariffs over Greenland. However it isn’t clear whether or not they would retaliate in form. Europe seems to be in a strategically weakened place, caught between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and America’s push to take over Greenland.
For many years, Europe has been closely depending on the U.S. for safety. The U.S. accounts for roughly two-thirds of NATO’s navy spending, and gives many of the alliance’s missile defence, nuclear umbrella (together with Britain and France) and long-range precision capabilities. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the very best navy commander in NATO, is all the time an American Common, and plenty of European militaries are interoperable with U.S. techniques by design. The U.S. operates no less than 37 navy bases in Europe, internet hosting roughly 80,000 troopers.
Most European international locations have pledged to extend defence spending, however it’ll take years earlier than they construct the capability to face on their very own. Within the meantime, they want the U.S. and NATO for safety. That dependency has solely deepened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Europe has adopted a powerful ethical and strategic place towards Russia, and has, till now, opposed main Ukrainian concessions to Moscow for peace. But when Europe desires Ukraine to proceed to combat the invasion, it additionally wants sustained America’s help—what Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, described because the “backstop”. Mr. Trump, who has all the time been sceptical of NATO, understands this leverage.
Few good choices
Mr. Trump is just not curious about a chronic confrontation with Russia. His speedy strategic focus, per his Nationwide Safety Technique, is on the Western Hemisphere and long-term focus is on China. Europe, in his worldview, is steadily shedding its strategic relevance.
Mr. Trump says he’s dedicated to NATO. However he desires NATO to assist him take over Greenland, violating the sovereignty of a European NATO member. In impact, he’s turning NATO towards NATO, searching for to extract a serious territorial concession from Europe. Unable to safe peace with Russia and more and more depending on NATO (U.S.) at a time of battle in japanese Europe, European leaders are left with few good choices on the subject of coping with Mr. Trump’s threats.
Printed – January 20, 2026 06:07 pm IST
