European leaders have grappled for months with the question of how to respond to US President Donald Trump’s quixotic desire to seize Greenland, but in recent days their puzzlement and alarm have only intensified.
Trump’s repeated insistence on the US taking control of Greenland from close ally Denmark has also compounded the chaos inside EU and Nato capitals on how to respond to America over other geopolitical issues — including the US attack on Venezuela and its ambivalent approach to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s a fine line,” said one senior European official. “The solidarity with Denmark is crystal clear for everyone. But then there’s Venezuela where nobody is sorry [Nicolás] Maduro is going, but there are legal questions. And we want to keep the US onside for a dignified outcome in Ukraine.”