Europe responds to Trump – but what do the soldiers sent to Greenland really communicate?

Several European countries have announced in recent days that they will send their soldiers to Greenland. Finland also announced on Thursday that it would send two officers to the Arctic island. It is about the decision of the government of Greenland and the Danish Ministry of Defense to continue the exercises of the Danish armed forces in Greenland in close cooperation with NATO allies.

In addition to Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Holland, Great Britain and France participate in Greenland’s training activities.

However, the White House announced on Thursday that the deployment of troops has no bearing on US plans for Greenland.

European politicians have so far justified sending soldiers from NATO countries quite cautiously.

Kauppalehti asked Finnish MEPs who the sending of soldiers is aimed at and what is the message intended to convey?

A member of the coalition Mika Aaltolan According to (EPP), sending soldiers shows that Europe is taking the initiative for once, although only a few dozen soldiers have been sent to prepare for the upcoming operation so far.

SDP’s Euro representative Maria Guzenina According to (S&D), it is a strong message that Europe is united: “We don’t leave ours alone, but we want to support them unitedly.”

Guzenina believes that the president Donald Trump understand Europe’s message, in which Europe makes itself a relevant Contracting Party in the Arctic.

Also a member of the European Parliament of the Basic Finns Sebastian Tynkkynen (ECR) says that Europe is now trying to show that it bears its own responsibility for the defense of the Arctic region.

“This was a good bet, but not enough,” Tynkkynen says.

Euro representative of the center Katri Kulmuni (Renew) estimates that the background of Trump’s Greenland strategy is the desire to get hold of the earth metals and minerals of the world’s largest island.

“I don’t think it’s worth being naive about it.”

“The Americans are free to send all the soldiers they feel they need to Greenland,” says Kulmuni.

According to him, the United States, Canada and the Nordic countries must think about a broader joint strategy to guarantee the security of the Arctic region.

The greens’ meppi Ville Niinistö (Greens/EFA) agrees with Kulmun that Trump’s Greenland policy is about resource management and neo-colonialism.

“The most important thing now is for the EU to demonstrate by various means that there will not be a security political vacuum left in Greenland.”

Euro representative of the Left Alliance Jussi Saramo (GUE/NGL) criticizes the Finnish government, which, according to him, does not seem to be able to mention the United States out loud.

“This is all about the United States,” says Saramo. According to him, there is currently no military threat from Russia or China in Greenland.

A response to Trump

European diplomats and politicians are currently thinking behind the scenes about how to respond if the US president were to carry out his threat to take over Greenland by force.

Diplomatic sources do not believe that any EU country would take military action against the United States.

If it wanted, Europe would also have other means to put pressure on the United States.

One key leverage is the United States’ extensive network of military bases in Europe, which the United States uses for its operations in, for example, the Middle East.

According to diplomats and EU politicians interviewed by Kauppalehti, the United States should not be allowed to use military bases located in Europe if Trump tries to forcibly take over Denmark’s Greenland.

Center’s Kulmuni believes that the Americans are not ready to topple their own world domination to the point that NATO crumbles from under it and the rest of the EU-US relations deteriorate.

“That’s why I think that there is some sort of restraint there for Trump as well,” says Kulmuni.

In response, Europe could also stop buying American weapons. This is supported by Niinistö of the Greens and Saramo of the Left Alliance.

“Europe should not push the American defense industry anymore, because we cannot trust that the alliance relationship is stable,” says Niinistö.

He also calls for a more European NATO.

“If the United States, genuinely within NATO, goes one way or another to occupy Greenland against Denmark’s will, then we must have the ability to operate in NATO without the United States,” says Niinistö.

According to Saramo of the Left Alliance, it is time for Europe to take a hard line against the United States.

“Europe must now wake up from this dream on a large scale.”

So far, however, Europe’s countermeasures have been cautious because they don’t want to anger Trump. The reason is that the United States wants to support Ukraine, which is the number one priority in foreign and security policy for many member countries. The United States needs to be included in the future security guarantees of Ukraine after a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, so that Russia does not attack Ukraine again.