Melike Pala
05 January 2026•Update: 06 January 2026
BRUSSELS
The EU on Monday reiterated its commitment to upholding the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to US President Donald Trump's recent remarks on needing Greenland for national security.
"The EU will continue to uphold the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the unviability of borders and the UN Charter. These are universal principles, and will not stop defending them. All the more so if the territorial integrity of a member state of the European Union is questioned," European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper told reporters in Brussels.
Hipper also reiterated the EU's solidarity with Denmark and Greenland, highlighting that Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, has the right to determine any changes to its status together with Denmark.
"We expect all our partners to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity and to abide by the international commitments," she added.
Paula Pinho, another European Commission spokesperson, underlined that Greenland is a NATO ally and a partner of the US.
"That is a big, big difference. So we therefore completely stand by Greenland, and in no way do we see a possible comparison with what happened," she said, referring to the recent US military action in Venezuela.
Pinho echoed Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen's remarks that the island "will not be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone."
The remarks came a day after Trump said that the US needs Greenland for national security reasons, citing what he described as an increased Russian and Chinese presence around the strategically located island.
He also argued that US control over the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland would serve broader Western interests, adding that the EU "needs us to have it" from a security standpoint.
