Arctic ‘matters enormously’ to EU, von der Leyen says

LIMASSOL, Cyprus — The EU has "doubled down on investments and supporting Greenland" because the Arctic and its security "matter enormously for us," Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday. A day after Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers held talks with senior members of the U.S. administration following Donald Trump's threats to seize the island, the European Commission president said the EU would "continue our work on Arctic security with our allies, our partners, including the United States." Her conciliatory comments belied the immense tension between the bloc and Washington since Trump accused Europe and the Kingdom of Denmark, of which Greenland is a territory, of not doing enough to secure the resource-rich and strategically located Arctic island. Denmark and several of its allies on Wednesday announced they will increase their military presence in Greenland. Advertisement "What is clear is that Greenland can count on us politically, economically and financially," von der Leyen told reporters in the Port of Limassol on Thursday, where European commissioners held talks with Cypriot officials and politicians including President Nikos Christodoulides. Cyprus assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on Jan. 1. Von der Leyen underscored Europe's economic commitment to the Arctic, noting that the EU intended to double financial support to Greenland in its next seven-year budget. She said Brussels and Nuuk, the island's capital, "are discussing investments" in the territory and "we're doubling down on these investments." "The discussions on Arctic security are, first and foremost, a core issue of NATO. But I also want to emphasize that ... both topics are core topics for the European Union and matter enormously for us," she said. There has been discussion in recent days over whether Denmark could trigger a little-known clause in the EU treaties to protect Greenland: Article 42.7 , the European Union's common defense pact. “Greenland is part of the territory of kingdom of Denmark and therefore in principle covered by the mutual solidarity clause in art 42.7 TEU. However, currently the question doesn’t ask itself,” Anitta Hipper, European Commission spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy. This article has been updated. Seb Starcevic contributed to this report. Advertisement

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