Greenland Under Pressure – Macron Confronts U.S. Trajectory Head-On – Rubio Meeting With Government Officials Planned

Marco Rubio has announced that he will meet next week with Danish and Greenlandic government representatives. It is a meeting born not of diplomatic routine, but of growing pressure. The Trump administration has reaffirmed its intention to gain control over Greenland – not militarily, according to official statements, but ultimately through a purchase. That this declaration comes now is no coincidence. After the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump is reviving an argument he already used during his first term: that the world’s largest island is indispensable to U.S. security, particularly in light of China’s and Russia’s expanding presence in the Arctic.

In Copenhagen and Nuuk, alarm bells have been ringing ever since. Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt had requested talks with Rubio after earlier inquiries went unanswered. Now the meeting is happening – at a moment when the tone from Washington has hardened. From the Danish government’s perspective, the situation is clear: Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and its future cannot be decided without the consent of the people who live there. French President Emmanuel Macron went a step further and dismantled the trajectory head-on. Speaking to French ambassadors at the Élysée, he described a world visibly turning away from law and surrendering to the “law of the strongest.” The United States, Macron said, is gradually distancing itself from its allies and shedding international rules – with tangible consequences for people. In this new disorder, serious speculation is emerging about whether Greenland could be militarily threatened, whether Canada might be turned into the 51st U.S. state, or whether Taiwan will continue to be encircled. Macron painted a picture of an increasingly dysfunctional world in which major powers like the United States and China openly succumb to the temptation to redistribute spheres of influence – not through dialogue, but through power and opportunity.

This position is now openly backed by Europe. The president of the European Council made clear that Greenland cannot be negotiated over the heads of its population and that Denmark and Greenland have the full solidarity of the European Union. The heads of government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom also aligned themselves with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in defending Greenland’s sovereignty. The reference to Greenland’s NATO status underscores the gravity of the situation: a territory that is part of the Western military alliance is being publicly discussed by an ally as an object of strategic acquisition.

At the same time, the tone in Washington continues to escalate. In an interview, Vice President JD Vance stated that Denmark has “obviously” failed to adequately fulfill its responsibilities in protecting Greenland. Trump, he said, is prepared to “go as far as necessary” to secure American interests in the Arctic. Vance repeated the claim that Greenland is central to U.S. missile defense and therefore crucial not only to national but to global security. From his perspective, the fact that Denmark has been a reliable military partner – in World War II as well as in the so-called war on terror – is not sufficient to offset present shortcomings. Acting correctly 25 years ago, Vance implied, does not preclude making wrong decisions today.

While Europe grapples with Greenland, another chapter of American power politics is opening in Latin America. In an interview, Trump suggested that direct U.S. oversight of Venezuela could last longer. He did not specify a timeframe. After Maduro’s arrest, the country is now being led by Delcy Rodríguez, who, according to Trump, has been cooperative despite public criticism. The Venezuelan government is delivering everything Washington deems necessary, the president said.

Taken together, these developments form a clear picture. The United States is once again more tightly linking military, political, and economic interests with territorial claims. Greenland is not being treated as an equal actor, but as a strategic factor in a global power game. Europe’s reactions show that this logic is not being accepted without resistance. Whether the announced meeting between Rubio, Denmark, and Greenland will contribute to de-escalation or merely mark the next step toward open confrontation remains uncertain. One thing is clear: the dispute over Greenland has long since left the realm of diplomatic routine and now touches a central power question of our time.