Troops from several European countries have begun arriving in Greenland to bolster security on the Arctic island, according to Al Jazeera and official statements from European governments, as diplomatic tensions between the United States and its European allies deepen over Greenland’s future.
France has already sent about 15 soldiers, while Germany has deployed a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel. Norway and Sweden are also participating in the mission, Al Jazeera reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that “the first French military elements are already en route” to Greenland and that others would follow. French authorities described the two-day mission as a recognition-of-the-territory exercise and a way to show that European Union troops can be deployed quickly if needed.
Germany’s Defence Ministry said its team would carry out reconnaissance duties as part of the deployment.
The European move comes after recent high-level talks involving the United States, Denmark and Greenland failed to reduce tensions over Greenland’s strategic role, mineral resources and military presence in the Arctic.
According to Al Jazeera, European diplomats see the deployment as a signal that Europe is not ready to accept what they describe as Washington’s “unilateral stance” on Greenland.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Paris reported a “sense of urgency” among European countries, saying that recent US actions elsewhere had convinced some allies that when President Donald Trump makes major strategic statements, he is serious.
Denmark announced on Wednesday that it would increase its own military presence in Greenland as Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers met US officials in Washington to discuss Trump’s stated interest in acquiring the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
After meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said they had failed to shift the American position. “We didn’t manage to change the American position,” he told reporters. “It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.”
Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said she wanted cooperation with the United States but stressed that Greenland did not want to be “owned by the United States”.
The two ministers said they would establish a working group to continue discussions on security and control in the Arctic.
Reacting to the European troop deployments, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said they were unlikely to affect President Trump’s plans for Greenland. “I don’t think troops in Europe impact the president’s decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all,” she said.
European and American officials say Greenland’s location between North America and the Arctic makes it strategically important for missile early-warning systems, naval monitoring and access to mineral resources, especially as Russian and Chinese activity in the region increases.
Analysts say the growing military and diplomatic activity around Greenland shows that the Arctic is becoming a new centre of global strategic competition, where differences between the United States and Europe are now emerging openly.