For most of 2025, European politicians had one, and only one, aim in mind: retaining the United States within their protection regime, encompassing NATO, Ukraine, and nuclear deterrence in relation to Russia.
However, their strategy may well disintegrate in 2026 due to its vulnerability in light of American intentions regarding the semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, known as Greenland, where Washington intends to assert its control over the territory
The White House has made it official that they are considering “a range of options” available to them, including military force, in Greenland. According to European officials, an invasion would mean an unprecedented break within the transatlantic partnership.
What is so important about Greenland — and why is Europe so concerned about the region?
Greenland is right at the heart of the Arctic region, whose value can no longer be underestimated due to the availability of new passages through melting ice and significant minerals. It is essential for missile defense, control of the seas in the Arctic region, and mitigating any rise of Russia and China, according to the United States.
The Trump administration has expressed doubts about the ability of Denmark to defend the territory and pointed out that the United States does not have confidence in the Danish or Greenlandic governments’ ability to protect its interests there. Donald Trump said that “. it’s like an island off of the Coast of Greenland—covered with Russian and Chinese ships.”
However, European leaders argue that the security concerns of the US are already addressed. The US has military bases in Greenland since 1951, has extensive military access in several European bilateral defence agreements, and has not encountered opposition in strengthening military presence in the region. For European leaders, the recent remark about acquisition expresses more than ever the realm of military cooperation.
Security worries to annexation threats
What alarms Europe is the emerging reality that Washington’s ambitions in the region extend beyond establishing military bases and access but extend instead to control over territory in Greenland. Analysts believe Washington may try either by threat or reward to influence the territory’s 57,000 inhabitants, who may later vote by popular referendum for American control without necessarily invading territory physically.
This would target some core interests of NATO. Greenland is under NATO due to its membership within Denmark. An annexation campaign spearheaded by the US, but with no troops on the ground, would go against the treaty saying that there are non-agreeable limits within an alliance.
In response to the situation, the Danish government has upped the ante in the public domain. For example, the Prime Minister of the country, Mette Frederiksen, has made it clear that if the US attacks or dispossesses a portion of its neighboring country in the name of NATO, “then everything stops,” including the function of the NATO alliance or the global security systems created at the end of the Second.
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Europe’s dilemma and NATO’s breaking point
However, despite growing concern, Europe still faces limited alternatives. It still relies heavily on US military strength, intelligence, and logistics. Rearmament efforts have intensified, but defense authorities admit that at least three to five years are required before Europe could deter Russia independently of the US.
It has already been exercised. European Governments caved to high US tariffs in 2025 to avoid alienating Washington from Ukraine and/or NATO. It seems that this dynamic is now playing out in Greenland.
Despite this, the initial cooperation towards the strategies of synchronizing through unity and restraint from the global community, including the French, has begun, while the mixed messages from the coordination in the US are still being received. The Trump administration officials made it clear that “we always have the use of force in our toolkit,” while the sources stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained, “We still are very much interested in buying Greenland.”
It would still be an annexation in this American-style fait accompli solution by force, this time with cash in place of missiles. This will not only strain the relationships of NATO, but this very move may very well tear NATO apart.
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