Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen addressed the European Parliament for the first time ever on Wednesday and announced that the territory is not seeking to join the European Union and is “definitely not seeking to be part” of the United States.
Asked by Euronews if Greenland is more likely to join the EU or be annexed by the US in the future — an interest US President Donald Trump repeatedly expressed — Nielsen said: “Let me say this clear, we are not going to join another country.”
“Right now (Greenland has) no plans for trying to be a member of the European Union”, Nielsen said, while it is “working to build up on the partnership” it has already with the EU and also “to move closer in a partnership in terms of many things, education, minerals and industry”.
“So no we are not seeking to be a member of the European Union and we are definitely not seeking to be a part of another country,” he said.
What Greenland wants
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, home to approximately 56,000 residents, with a self-government arrangement in place since 2009, built upon a tradition of home rule that began in 1979.
The North Atlantic territory left the European Economic Community (the precursor to the EU) in 1985, following a referendum on withdrawal held in 1982.
Since then, Greenland has maintained a close cooperation with the EU, and in recent years, relations have strengthened, leading to the opening of an EU office in Greenland’s capital Nuuk.
Prime Minister Nielsen is seeking to enhance cooperation, which is currently governed by several different agreements, particularly in the fields of education, critical minerals, renewable energy, digitalisation and sustainable tourism.
During his European Parliament address on Wednesday, he touched on various areas of partnership, with a particular emphasis on raw materials, as Greenland holds 24 of the 34 critical minerals identified by the EU.
“In 2023, the EU and Greenland agreed on a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials value chains (…)Taking the current security situation in the world into account and the green transition, there is, however, a need to move faster,” Nielsen said.
“The critical minerals of Greenland have the potential to shift global and security balances. But action needs to be taken fast”.
Fisheries relations are also a relevant aspect for Greenland, as this is the most important industrial sector in the country.
The autonomous territory agreed in 1985 on a system that allows EU vessels to fish in Greenlandic waters in return for a financial contribution and duty-free access to the EU market for Greenlandic fishery products.
The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement currently sets an annual quota for the fish that EU vessels can catch, as well as the amount that the EU will pay in return.
Nielsen considers the current agreement “satisfactory”, but he also sees “vital to continue to adjust the cooperation on fisheries to the development and growth of the Greenlandic fishing industry”.
What does Greenland not want?
There are also contentious points in the EU-Greenland relations. In his speech, Nielsen expressed his hope that Brussels will reconsider a general ban on placing seal products on its market, which in his view, “has had grave negative impacts on seal hunting and has led to significant drops in the domestic supply as well as in the export of our sealskin”.
Seal hunting is an integral part of the Inuit culture, with knowledge and skills being passed down through generations, the Greenlandic premier explained to MEPs. “In our words, it’s the lifeblood of our culture and our identity,” he said.
“Greenland needs the European Union and the European Union needs Greenland,” was Nielsen’s final message to the plenary and seemingly to Washington, after Trump sent shockwaves across Europe when he publicly refused to rule out the possibility of using military force or economic coercion to seize the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
European Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola echoed Nielsen’s words. “Greenland will always find a strong partner in the European Union”, she said during a press conference, ensuring that the EU “comes to Greenland not with demands or claims, but in the spirit of mutual respect and friendship”.
She recalled European investments in Greenland for education, training, and skills, promising that more support is forthcoming. “When you look to Europe, you will find friends and you will find allies,” Metsola concluded.
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