European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends a press conference on the day of the European Union Summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 23, 2025.
Eve Herman | Reuters
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Greenland’s capital on Sunday, aiming to shore up support for the Arctic island against the backdrop of repeated threats from US President Donald Trump.
The EU chief is widely expected to announce new funding for the autonomous Danish territory during his second visit to Nuuk with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
This comes shortly after Icelanders voted to reject the restart of EU accession negotiations and shortly after President Trump reiterated his commitment to acquiring Greenland on national security grounds.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen made a vague reference to President Trump’s pursuit of the island ahead of von der Leyen’s visit.
“The EU has made clear its support for us in the geopolitical context and responded to our request for further partnership. I very much look forward to sharing more about the importance of the Greenland Joint Declaration in the coming days,” Nielsen said in a statement shared with CNBC.
Analysts highlighted three main reasons for von der Leyen’s visit to Greenland: Arctic security, economic and infrastructure investments, and broader cooperation in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment ahead of von der Leyen’s visit. A spokesperson for Denmark’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
arctic security
Christina Spohr, professor of international history at the London School of Economics, said the EU prime minister’s visit to Nuuk was a show of solidarity with both Greenland and Denmark at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.
“We must never lose sight of what is happening in Russia and China. This doesn’t just mean the sabotage and hybrid warfare that we are seeing. The focus is now on Germany, but in fact there is a question mark again about Russian trawlers around Svalbard,” Spohr told CNBC in a video call.
“We’ve also seen that China and Russia are conducting dual-use scientific operations from the Chukchi Sea further north through the Bering Strait. And, of course, the United States says they should not enter our national waters.”
Spohr said these security concerns also extended to the so-called GIUK Gap, referring to the strategic maritime route between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom that connects the North Pole and the Atlantic Ocean.
A sign reads “Greenland is not for sale!” Seen in Nuuk, Greenland on January 20, 2026.
Mads Klaus Rasmussen | AFP | Getty Images
“So it’s a very volatile situation…In fact, the United States, which is one of our most important allies in the global framework, is making life incredibly difficult, especially when it comes to Greenland and Denmark,” she added.
Trump has long claimed control of Greenland, a vast, sparsely populated, largely frozen island, but the US president’s obsession with the territory became a major transatlantic issue earlier this year.
President Trump, who did not rule out the possibility of using military force to annex Greenland, suddenly announced in late January that he had formed a “framework for future agreements” with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte regarding the territory.
A working group comprising representatives from the United States, Denmark and Greenland has since met to discuss how to proceed.
local investment
The EU’s funding package for Greenland in 2026 and 2027 could be worth as much as 200 million euros ($232.4 million), the Financial Times reported, and could target priority areas such as critical minerals, renewable energy and undersea cables.
Ms von der Leyen had previously established a permanent European presence in the country with the opening of a European Commission office in Nuuk in March 2024. At the time, the EU chief also signed cooperation agreements worth nearly €94 million.
“There are several layers, but one that we must never forget is the relationship between Greenland and Denmark,” Andreas Raspotnik, a senior researcher at the Arctic Institute think tank, told CNBC by phone.
“The approach now is very clear: What can we actually do? We can invest and we can provide support for the issues that have been agreed upon in advance, such as infrastructure, investment in education, increasing our presence there.”
The EU’s Commissioner for International Partnerships, Joseph Sikela, recently highlighted some of the EU’s investments in Greenland during a gathering to discuss Arctic issues in Brussels.
“The EU has invested in education, fisheries and sustainable tourism in the Arctic for decades. We have committed 372 million euros to Arctic research through Horizon and 273 million euros through Interreg,” Siquela said at the EU Arctic Forum on Tuesday. “We are not new here, but today’s environment demands more,” he added.
“North Neighborhood”
Von der Leyen’s visit to Greenland is seen as a great opportunity for the EU to work closely with regional leaders on issues such as defense and economic resilience, especially as the EU is in the process of updating its Arctic policy.
“I think there is a shift in strategic thinking in Brussels as they look at how to better incorporate Greenland, which they would probably like to call the northern region,” Raspotnik said.
“We still hear that word. You know, we have an eastern neighbourhood, we have a southern neighbourhood, but how do we define north? North means Iceland, it means Canada, it means Britain,” he continued.
Greenland’s head of government Jens Frederik Nielsen (left) and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen make a statement about the current situation during a press conference at the Hall of Mirrors, the Prime Minister’s official residence, on January 13, 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Liselotte Sabloe AFP | Getty Images
“How can we think more strategically about these partners, the northern countries outside the EU?”
Greenland will host the twice-yearly national conference on Monday between Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen and Faroese Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen.
“These are times that require us to work closely together. As if we were three people in the same boat, we must row together and ensure a common direction. That’s the way the system works now,” Nielsen said.
