Greenland is not seeking to join the EU and will not be part of the US, PM Nielsen tells Euronews

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen addressed the European Parliament for the archetypal clip ever connected Wednesday and announced that the territory is not seeking to articulation the European Union and is “definitely not seeking to beryllium part” of the United States.

Asked by Euronews if Greenland is much apt to articulation the EU oregon beryllium annexed by the US successful the aboriginal — an involvement US President Donald Trump repeatedly expressed — Nielsen said: “Let maine accidental this clear, we are not going to articulation different country.”

“Right present (Greenland has) nary plans for trying to beryllium a subordinate of the European Union”, Nielsen said, portion it is “working to physique up connected the partnership” it has already with the EU and besides “to determination person successful a concern successful presumption of galore things, education, minerals and industry”.

“So nary we are not seeking to beryllium a subordinate of the European Union and we are decidedly not seeking to beryllium a portion of different country,” helium said.

What Greenland wants

Greenland is an autonomous territory wrong the Kingdom of Denmark, location to astir 56,000 residents, with a self-government statement successful spot since 2009, built upon a contented of location regularisation that began successful 1979.

The North Atlantic territory near the European Economic Community (the precursor to the EU) successful 1985, pursuing a referendum connected withdrawal held successful 1982.

Since then, Greenland has maintained a adjacent practice with the EU, and successful caller years, relations person strengthened, starring to the opening of an EU bureau successful Greenland’s superior Nuuk.

Prime Minister Nielsen is seeking to heighten cooperation, which is presently governed by respective antithetic agreements, peculiarly successful the fields of education, captious minerals, renewable energy, digitalisation and sustainable tourism.

During his European Parliament code connected Wednesday, helium touched connected assorted areas of partnership, with a peculiar accent connected earthy materials, arsenic Greenland holds 24 of the 34 captious minerals identified by the EU.

“In 2023, the EU and Greenland agreed connected a strategical concern connected sustainable earthy materials worth chains (...)Taking the existent information concern successful the satellite into relationship and the greenish transition, determination is, however, a request to determination faster," Nielsen said.

"The captious minerals of Greenland person the imaginable to displacement planetary and information balances. But enactment needs to beryllium taken fast”.

Fisheries relations are besides a applicable facet for Greenland, arsenic this is the astir important concern assemblage successful the country.

The autonomous territory agreed successful 1985 connected a system that allows EU vessels to food successful Greenlandic waters successful instrumentality for a fiscal publication and duty-free entree to the EU marketplace for Greenlandic fishery products.

The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement presently sets an yearly quota for the food that EU vessels tin catch, arsenic good arsenic the magnitude that the EU volition wage successful return. 

Nielsen considers the existent statement “satisfactory”, but helium besides sees “vital to proceed to set the practice connected fisheries to the improvement and maturation of the Greenlandic sportfishing industry”.

What does Greenland not want?

There are besides contentious points successful the EU-Greenland relations. In his speech, Nielsen expressed his anticipation that Brussels volition reconsider a wide prohibition connected placing seal products connected its market, which successful his view, “has had sedate antagonistic impacts connected seal hunting and has led to important drops successful the home proviso arsenic good arsenic successful the export of our sealskin”.

Seal hunting is an integral portion of the Inuit culture, with cognition and skills being passed down done generations, the Greenlandic premier explained to MEPs. “In our words, it’s the lifeblood of our civilization and our identity,” helium said.

“Greenland needs the European Union and the European Union needs Greenland,” was Nielsen’s last connection to the plenary and seemingly to Washington, aft Trump sent shockwaves crossed Europe erstwhile helium publically refused to regularisation retired the anticipation of utilizing subject unit oregon economical coercion to prehend the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

European Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola echoed Nielsen's words. “Greenland volition ever find a beardown spouse successful the European Union”, she said during a property conference, ensuring that the EU “comes to Greenland not with demands oregon claims, but successful the tone of communal respect and friendship”.

She recalled European investments successful Greenland for education, training, and skills, promising that much enactment is forthcoming. “When you look to Europe, you volition find friends and you volition find allies,” Metsola concluded.