Leaders gather to discuss Trump’s obsession with Greenland

The heads of all 27 European Union member states gathered in Brussels on January 22 to hold an emergency meeting regarding Trump's continued verbal threats to annex Greenland. Trump has been continually making it known that he wants to own Greenland, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark. With the World Economic Forum at Davos wrapping up on January 23, Donald Trump spent more than an hour addressing the summit during his time there. Trump flip-flopped between threatening multiple sovereign nations and claiming that he would not use military force to annex the country, despite what he had threatened before.

Trump wants Greenland

Trump's desire to own Greenland is slightly confusing. He has frequently devalued the nation, calling it ‘a block of ice' among other slights. At the same time, Trump has been making his wishes to own Greenland clear during his second term, and his speech at Davos confirmed that he is not willing to let the topic go. Trump announced that he had successfully argued for a framework of a deal related to Greenland, but the deal does not appear to give America control over Greenland. The deal involves multiple countries working together to ensure the Arctic is protected from external threats and reportedly gives Trump control over some Greenlandic minerals. As of January 23, there is no official deal in writing. All public information on the deal has been released by NATO representatives to the media.

Framework of a deal

While the exact details of the deal are far from being released, Donald Trump and multiple NATO spokespersons have commented on different aspects of the deal. According to reports, Denmark would retain control of Greenland, but the deal will also include provisions giving the U.S. access to Greenland's natural resources, including rare-earth minerals. The deal also outlines increasing security in the Arctic against countries like China and Russia. Trump also mentioned that the deal will progress his plan for a ‘Golden Dome' in the U.S., an advanced missile defence system based on Israel's Golden Dome. According to Trump, his interests lie in ensuring Greenland lasts for ‘infinity'.

Emergency meeting in Greenland

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech for a closing press conference after an emergency meeting of the European Council over US President's Greenland threats, at the European headquarters in Brussels, on January 22, 2026. EU leaders meet on January 22, 2026, for an emergency summit on threats by US President to impose tariffs on countries opposed to his push to take Greenland, with crisis talks in Brussels coming to weigh potential countermeasures against the United States. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP via Getty Images)

On January 22, the heads of all 27 European Union member states gathered in Brussels to hold an emergency meeting regarding Greenland. The meeting was held to ensure unity around the principles of international law and national sovereignty and to secure unity in full support and solidarity with Denmark and Greenland. The meeting was focused on finding a way to appease Donald Trump's wishes while securing Greenland's self-governance and Denmark's control over the nation. According to a European Council spokesperson, Trump's desire to secure Greenland from external forces is aligned with Greenland and Denmark's wishes, but Trump's desire to control large swaths of Greenland's economy hasn't gone over well in Europe. European Council President Antonio Costa claimed that the European Council is seriously worried about Trump's use of both aggressive and retaliatory tariffs on countries that don't align with his views. According to Costa, the European Council will be working with Trump in the coming weeks to try to come to a solution that appeases the President while protecting Greenland.