Denmark, Greenland seek US congressional support against Trump bid

COPENHAGEN – Denmark and Greenland are stepping up lobbying of US lawmakers in a bid to head off US President Donald Trump’s push to take control of Greenland.

A group of US senators is set to meet members of the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen on Jan 16.

The trip follows a week of meetings in Washington by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen with members of Congress on the heels of talks with US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt also participated.

What Copenhagen and Nuuk are seeking to achieve is support from Capitol Hill that could help constrain any future moves by the White House to threaten Greenland, given lawmakers’ control over federal spending.

High-level talks between Denmark, Greenland and the US earlier this week ended in a stalemate over the future of the world’s largest island, although officials agreed to set up a working group to manage the diplomatic dispute.

Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted that the US needs to control the territory, an ambition that remains unresolved and has been rejected time and again by both Copenhagen and Nuuk.

Among the senators travelling to Denmark is Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, a veteran of Arctic affairs who has emerged as one of the most prominent congressional critics of Mr Trump’s Greenland ambitions.

Earlier this week, Senator Murkowski and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen introduced legislation that would bar the use of US government funds to occupy or annex the territory of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) member state without its consent.

Ms Murkowski, speaking to reporters on Jan 14 in Washington after a meeting with the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers, said: “We are operating in times where we’re having conversations about things that we never thought even possible.

“It’s important to send the message that here in the Congress we recognise and support the sovereignty of the people of Greenland, that we show respect for them as a people.”

Mr Trump could veto the legislation even if it passes Congress. Still, Congress can impose restrictions on how Mr Trump can use federal funds when it passes annual spending packages for the US government.

Asked by reporters on Jan 15 whether the Bill was symbolic or could actually be used to stop Mr Trump from attacking Greenland, Senator Shaheen said: “It’s important to express the bipartisan support for Nato and for the relationship with Denmark and Greenland. And that’s what the legislation does.”

Meanwhile, European countries are sending military staff to Greenland, with a contingent of 13 Germans due to arrive on Jan 16 along with other allies, including France, Britain, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands. They are preparing for a military exercise that is meant to become permanent, Denmark has said.

The decision to dispatch reinforcements to the Arctic territory as early as this week highlights the urgency with which European nations seek to respond to US threats over Greenland, with Mr Trump repeatedly stating that the US needs the land for national security.

The semi-autonomous territory is covered under Nato’s Article 5 collective defence clause as it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

That is why it also “in principle is covered by the mutual solidarity clause in Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union”, European Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper said on Jan 15.

There is strong support for the transatlantic alliance within the Republican Party’s establishment wing, particularly in the US Senate. Still, most Republican lawmakers have been reluctant to directly challenge Mr Trump.

Former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell warned Mr Trump in a Senate floor speech on Jan 14 against “incinerating the hard-won trust of loyal allies” by taking actions to seize Greenland from Nato ally Denmark.

“This is about more than Greenland. It’s about more than America’s relationship with its highly capable Nordic allies. It’s about whether the United States intends to face a constellation of strategic adversaries with capable friends... or commit an unprecedented act of strategic self-harm and go it alone,” Mr McConnell said.

The bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation to Copenhagen is led by Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat representing Delaware, who is set to be joined by Ms Murkowski and Ms Shaheen, as well as senators including North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis and Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin.

Representatives Gregory Meeks, Madeleine Dean, Sara Jacobs and Sarah McBride are also due to be present.

Mr Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister, hosted almost 40 House members at the embassy for dinner on Jan 14. 

Lawmakers he has spoken to “recognise that the Kingdom of Denmark and US are close allies; we have had uninterrupted relations for 225 years”, Mr Rasmussen said. “The US has no ally with a longer uninterrupted relationship and we should build on that.” BLOOMBERG