- The next act in the Greenland saga will see Nato’s highest military committee convene amid profound infighting
- Currently, the US intend to apply economic pressure to force through a deal over the island while European allies back Danish sovereignty, albeit verbally
- US President Donald Trump calls out Europe’s limited show of force in Greenland, suggesting the US will take responsibility in deterring Russian threats there
Nato’s senior military authority – the Military Committee – will gather in Brussels over the course of 21-22 January amid profound political infighting.
Rather ambiguously, it is said that the meeting will examine collective deterrence, defence posture and the delivery of capabilities at pace and scale.
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While there is no reference to the ongoing debate over the status of Greenland, an internal clash that could seriously undermine Nato’s strategic mission, it is reasonable to suppose that the topic will dominate discussions.
A handful of Nato allies have recently inserted a small band of troops and capabilities on the world’s largest island as part of what is intended to be a joint exercise under Operation Arctic Endurance.
But in the backdrop, Nato infighting over the Greenland question continues to play out this week with US threats to impose more costly tariffs on European trade as European nations rally around Denmark, offering verbal support for the Kingdom’s territorial sovereignty.
Tariff claims
The first mention of economic pressure emerged on 17 January, through Trump’s social media platform (Truth Social), in which the President sought to extort Europe with rising tariff rates to force through a deal over Greenland:
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By GlobalData“Starting on February 1st, 2026, all of the… mentioned Countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland), will be charged a 10% Tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America. On June 1st, 2026, the Tariff will be increased to 25%.”
But one should take a pinch of salt when considering this policy, not only due to its provenance as an impromptu social media post, but because the claim covers “any and all goods”, which seems unlikely given the US requires certain British defence products such as Rolls-Royce engines, which were reportedly exempt from tariffs imposed last year.
Nevertheless, Trump continued to press his Greenland claim in another social media post last night.
He maintained that the US will succeed where Denmark has failed, namely in stopping “the Russian threat” to Greenland with a credible force presence on the island, assuring the world that this “will be done”.
Europe responds
However, European leaders have interceded with verbal support for Denmark.
The EU Commission released a joint statement on 17 January declaring their “full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland”.
The Commission also went on to denounce the forthcoming tariff increase – on top of existing rates for the EU and the UK respectively – which would only serve to “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.
Earlier today, on 19 January, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed the point in a speech from Downing Street, noting Washington’s economic pressure “is not the right way to resolve differences within an alliance” while urging all parties “to find a solution rooted in partnership, facts and mutual respect”.
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