EU chief in Greenland to boost Arctic ties

COPENHAGEN:

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Greenland on Sunday for a two-day visit aimed at reaffirming the bloc's support for the Arctic island coveted by US President Donald Trump.

Throughout her two-day visit, von der Leyen will be sending the message that the Danish autonomous territory belongs with Europe rather than the US.

Her agenda includes a boat outing amid the icebergs, meetings with top Greenlandic and Danish officials and signing a joint statement between Greenland and the European Union.

"We are family," von der Leyen said on arrival in the island's capital, Nuuk, where she was welcomed by Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Trump insisted earlier this year that Washington needed to control Greenland for national security reasons, though he ultimately ruled out annexing it by force.

A Danish-Greenlandic-US working group has since met regularly to find a way of cooperating in the future.

Following Trump's threats, European countries backed Denmark and Greenland, and in January von der Leyen vowed "massive" EU investment in Greenland to step up security in the Arctic.

Brussels has proposed doubling direct EU aid to Greenland to 530 million euros ($616 million) under the bloc's next budget for the 2028-2034 period.

According to the Financial Times, von der Leyen is expected to propose an additional 200 million euros in support during her visit on Sunday and Monday.