NATO’s silence on Trump’s Greenland threat is unsettling Europe

NATO’s silence on Trump’s Greenland threat is unsettling Europe

• NATO hasn't confirmed Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland despite US threats.
• European leaders urge NATO to address the Greenland issue to show alliance unity
• Denmark urges NATO talks as US hints at military action over Greenland

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NATO’s failure to publicly respond to Donald Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland is beginning to alarm European capitals, which fear the alliance is hesitating at precisely the moment it should be demonstrating unity.

Despite repeated statements from the White House that all options remain open, including the use of military force, NATO has not issued any declaration affirming Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland or the island’s territorial integrity. The absence of a clear public position has unsettled diplomats across Europe, particularly in countries that see the crisis as a direct test of the alliance’s credibility, the Financial Times reported.

Several European officials say the silence stands in sharp contrast to the European Union’s efforts to rally behind Copenhagen. While EU leaders have stressed that Greenland’s status cannot be changed by force, NATO has limited itself to quiet diplomacy.

Rutte’s low profile and Europe’s unease

At the centre of the discomfort is NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, who is known to have a good working relationship with Trump. Yet on this issue, he has remained unusually low-profile. Suggestions from France and other allies for a stronger NATO presence or mission in Greenland have not been taken up.

Many European diplomats privately acknowledge that NATO is in a uniquely awkward position. Any serious confrontation would involve two alliance members, the United States and Denmark, raising the unthinkable prospect of a dispute inside NATO itself.

Still, some argue that avoiding the issue only makes matters worse.

“Since this involves NATO countries, NATO should be the place where this is discussed,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, warning that silence risks allowing tensions to spiral and weakening the alliance’s authority.

A direct challenge to NATO’s foundations

Trump has repeatedly accused Denmark of failing to invest enough in Greenland’s security and has pointed to what he describes as growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic. The White House has said that military action remains an option alongside a possible purchase or other arrangements.

For NATO, the implications are profound. A US attempt to seize or annex Greenland would throw the alliance’s core principle of collective defence into crisis and raise questions about the meaning of Article 5, the clause that commits members to defend one another.

“They are conspicuously quiet,” said one EU official. “If NATO does not speak up, it starts to look like this is being tolerated.”

Denmark hardens its stance

Denmark itself has now hardened its tone. After months of trying to keep the dispute from escalating, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said this week that Trump is “serious” and warned that any US attack on a NATO country would effectively end the alliance as it is known.

Danish lawmakers are now calling for NATO to formally discuss the issue under Article 4 of the treaty, which allows consultations when a member feels its security is under threat.

Europe tries to fill the vacuum

Elsewhere in Europe, leaders have tried to fill the vacuum. The heads of government of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK issued a joint statement with Denmark reaffirming their commitment to sovereignty and the inviolability of borders. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that “law is stronger than force.”

Behind the scenes, NATO officials insist there is intense diplomatic activity and growing focus on Arctic security. Some have floated the idea of a dedicated NATO mission in the region, similar to recent efforts to protect infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

An alliance facing an internal test

But many acknowledge that Greenland poses a uniquely difficult problem.

“Ukraine is easy in comparison,” said one senior Nordic diplomat. “There, the enemy is clear. Here, the problem is that the United States is supposed to be our closest ally.”

For now, Europe is left watching and waiting, increasingly uneasy that NATO’s most serious internal test in decades is being met with little more than studied quiet.