Iceland accelerates its accession to the EU and Greenland entrenches European troops

Davos emerges as a preview of the tensions that Operation ‘Epic Fury’ against Iran would cause between the US and its allies. Throughout his intervention full of reproaches towards the European Union and NATO, Trump – who still nurtured the idea of buy greenland– began to mention Iceland on several occasions, when seem to confuse both.

The Republican went so far as to say that “Iceland had made them lose a lot of money” in reference to the sale of bonds by the Danish pension fund that, as a warning, hurt the US stock markets.

Reluctantly, the White House confirmed that Trump indeed only had Greenland in mind. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt went so far as to deny any error since “Iceland” means “ice island” and can apply to anyone in the Arctic.

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, explained more soberly that the president of the United States was confused. “Sometimes lapses occur,” he concluded.

Real or figurative, Donald Trump’s threat on Iceland has had an immediate effect on the European sentiment on the island. The conversations for join the European Union as the 28th statewhich were interrupted in 2013, will be resumed in the coming months as confirmed by Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir during her recent visit to Poland.

Icelanders were called to participate in a referendum in 2027 to decide whether to resume negotiations with Brussels. However, the popular consultation will now take place in a matter of monthsconfirmed Frostadottir. “There is an open opportunity to improve Iceland’s integration into Europe,” he declared.

The island already belongs to the European single market, the Schengen cross-border area and the European Free Trade Association, in addition to belonging to NATO. However, the Russian military threat materialized in the war in Ukraine, the American expansionism on Greenland and the rising cost of living have increased interest in joining the EU.

The Icelandic Foreign Minister, Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, expressed in statements to the agency Reuters his hope that The island’s entry into the European Union will occur in 2028. “We have seen the benefits of sitting at the table,” he illustrated.

The battle for the Arctic that was not

The Danish public broadcaster, DRhas just revealed that Copenhagen seriously feared a US military incursion into Greenland. With the collaboration of France, Germany and other Scandinavian countries, Denmark prepared to resist in a conflict that would have damaged, if not destroyed, the Atlantic Alliance.

Although the plans to defend the autonomous territory began to be drawn up in 2025, an event accelerated the preparations: the capture of Nicolás Maduro on New Year’s Day 2026. The evidence that the US had begun to launch unilateral operations abroad was coupled with the increasingly aggressive messages from the Trumpist orbit.

Thus, the joint military maneuvers planned on Greenland soil served to transport explosiveswith which the special forces would have demolished the landing strips on the island to prevent them from being used by the US. They also carried blood bags for the wounded in anticipation of armed confrontations.

The goal was to have “soldiers of as many flags as possible” on the ground, to amplify the disruptive effect that a US attack would have on NATO. And although Trump’s priorities have shifted to focus on the Middle East and Cuba, the Danish government continues to consider its territorial sovereignty threatened.

Denmark votes with Greenland in mind

Resistance to pressure from Trump, who finally renounced his annexation plans in exchange for a nebulous agreement with NATO on Greenland, has been the great determinant of the call for early legislative elections in Denmark.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen summons Danes to the polls on March 24, a measure with which she intends to capitalize on the increase in popularity that her position has given her. firm but talkative in the face of Washington’s aggressive rhetoric.

Frederiksen has also been one of the great supporters of European support for kyiv in the war against Russia. However, voters could punish her for what has been interpreted as a inattention to national affairsexplains political scientist Joachim B. Olsen to the Reuters agency.

“Trust in Mette Frederiksen as a leader and in her ability to captain the ship between the crises in Greenland and Ukraine will be the center of the campaign,” he values. “But her weakness is having already been prime minister in two terms. If you address the inequalityvoters reply that why hasn’t he taken care of it until now?

The current Danish government is an unorthodox coalition formed by the socialdemocrats of the prime minister, the liberal party and moderates. Emerged in 2022 at the end of the pandemic, this alliance is expected to lose the majority as voters reposition themselves in more traditional left and right corners.

The social democrats, in fact, are coming off a resounding defeat in the 2025 municipal elections, in which they lost the mayor of Copenhagen for the first time in 87 years. However, in recent months support has rebounded from a minimum of 17% in December to 22%, however still far from the 28% with which they won in 2022.

However, keeping up with Trump is not everything in Danish politics. Austerity measures to increase military spending that abandons Frederiksen In a context of rising cost of living it is unpopular. The prime minister also wants to reinforce the already strict Danish immigration laws, something that leads her to clash with European allies. His animosity towards the Spanish Pedro Sanchez It is remarkable in this regard.