U.S. allies in Europe are banding together against President Donald Trump’s ultimatum: tax imported goods from their countries unless Denmark surrenders control of strategically important Greenland.
Trump said that U.S. ownership of Greenland – an 800,000-square-mile Arctic island and Danish territory – is vital to national security. He says Denmark cannot defend its mineral-rich territory from China and Russia. On Monday, Trump criticized NATO, saying the alliance has failed to compel Denmark to comply.
“NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland,'” Trump wrote in a social media post. “Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it.”
Trump has warned that NATO allies who oppose his plans to acquire Greenland will face escalating tariffs: a 10% duty on all exports to the U.S. from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland beginning Feb. 1, rising to 25% by June 1.
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom responded in unison.
“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland,” they said in a joint statement. “Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”
The group also said the troops recently sent to Greenland were part of a preplanned Danish military exercise, dubbed “Arctic Endurance,” that shows they are committed to Arctic security.
“It poses no threat to anyone,” the group said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had spoken with Trump after the U.S. president threatened allies with fresh tariffs.
“We will continue working on this, and I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week,” Rutte wrote in a social media post on Monday.
Trump has said NATO should be leading the effort to get Denmark to hand over Greenland, but Rutte has tried to keep NATO out of it.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, “Europe will not be blackmailed.”
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she spoke to counterparts after Trump’s tariff threats.
“Together we stand firm in our commitment to uphold the sovereignty of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark,” she said. “We will always protect our strategic economic and security interests. We will face these challenges to our European solidarity with steadiness and resolve.”
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Greenland and Denmark will decide the future of Greenland.
“Our position on Greenland is very clear – it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes,” he said. “We have also made clear that Arctic Security matters for the whole of NATO and allies should all do more together to address the threat from Russia across different parts of the Arctic.”
Trump’s tariff threats wouldn’t help, the prime minister said.
“Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong,” Starmer said. “We will of course be pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration.”
On Sunday, Trump connected Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize last year in a text message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize … I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump said in the message.
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed receiving the message and called for de-escalation.
“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear,” Støre said Monday. “Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter. We also support that NATO in a responsible way is taking steps to strengthen security and stability in the Arctic.”
Støre said the Noble Peace Prize wasn’t his to award.
“As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to president Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government,” Støre said.
Trump wants to buy the sparsely populated island, but Denmark and Greenland officials have stated it’s not for sale, and public polling shows Greenlanders overwhelmingly oppose joining America.
Greenland, with about 57,000 people, relies on Danish subsidies and shrimp fishing. A 2025 poll found 85% of Greenlanders opposed joining America.
Experts say as ice melts in the Arctic, more shipping and military ship routes could open in the region, changing the global trade and the defensive relationship between the U.S. and Russia. More mining and drilling exploration could also open up.
In 1867, when President Andrew Johnson bought Alaska, he also considered buying Greenland. The U.S. also tried to buy Greenland in 1946. The United States proposed to pay Denmark $100 million in gold to buy Greenland, according to documents in the National Archives. The sale never went through, but the U.S. got the military base it wanted on the island.
Pituffik Space Base, previously known as Thule Air Base, is located in Greenland. Pituffik SB is locked in by ice nine months out of the year, but the airfield is open and operated year-round. Pituffik exists due to agreements between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Denmark, specifically addressing mutual defense, according to the Space Force.
