LONDON

Europe must take a firmer stance against US President Donald Trump’s “hostile outbursts” about Greenland, while offering an off-ramp that includes economic and security deals, former Danish Prime Minister and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen wrote Tuesday.

In an article penned for the Economist, Rasmussen highlighted Denmark’s long-standing military support for the US, and noted: “On 52 occasions between 2002 and 2021, the flag-draped coffins of Denmark’s sons and daughters returned home from Afghanistan and Iraq, where those fallen soldiers had given their lives fighting side-by-side with the US.”

“Denmark suffered more casualties relative to its population than any other member of the American-led coalition except Georgia—more even than America itself,” he added.

'Enough is enough'

Rasmussen said he had long “admired America.”

“As prime minister of Denmark and secretary-general of NATO, I considered America to be the natural leader of the free world. But in watching President Donald Trump’s hostile outbursts against one of America’s most loyal allies, I must now conclude that enough is enough.”

Greenland, he argued, poses no threat to the US and is protected by NATO.

“If Russia or China were to seek to land forces in Greenland, they would be met by the combined might of NATO allies, not Danish forces alone.”

Under the 1951 US-Denmark security agreement, American forces can increase their presence there, and Rasmussen suggested that economic incentives could be offered.

“If American companies would like to invest more in Greenland’s resources … they would be welcomed,” he said.

He warned, however, that traditional diplomacy may not suffice with Trump. “Mr Trump would like to annex Greenland because he believes that he can … He believes that Europe is divided and feckless, and that when push comes to shove, we will cling to our statements of profound disagreement as we give him what he wants.”

Rasmussen called for a strong European response if the US challenged Greenland’s sovereignty.

“Should the Trump administration attempt to change a sovereign European border, America must face the full force of the EU economic ‘bazooka’—with massive import and export restrictions and the cutting off of American companies from European public procurement.”

He said Europe must act decisively. “We must draw an impassable line in the snow of Greenland … We must rapidly move to expand our trading relations…to de-risk ourselves from the whims of Washington.”

“Europe is left, then, with a choice. We can either play Trump’s game of strength—or be forced to suffer what we must,” Rasmussen wrote.​​​​​​​