The United States and Denmark have announced that they have come to an agreement over Greenland. In a statement on Friday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen touted a “great agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the United States,” while promising that it would recognise “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the Greenlandic people’s right to self-determination.” She added: “This is an agreement which strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic Area and therefore is great for NATO and Europe as well.”
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also welcomed the agreement with the US, saying it was “to the benefit of us all” and that it would “ensure and strengthen the security of the island.”
The US is reported to have had 17 military facilities and over 10,000 troops on Greenland at the height of the Cold War. It now operates just one base on the island, the Pituffik Space Base — the US Department of Defense’s northernmost installation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had visited Greenland earlier this month as part of EU efforts to counter Trump’s Arctic ambitions, announcing a €200 million partnership with the territory during her visit — which is set to be invested this year and the next. The Commission has also proposed allocating €530 million to Greenland under its budget for the 2028–2034 period, which it said reflected its “growing geostrategic importance in the Arctic.”
