France’s foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot has fiercely defended the European Union in response to US president-elect Donald Trump’s claim that America should take “ownership and control of Greenland”.
Speaking on the France Inter radio Wednesday, Barrot said: “There is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are.
“We are a strong continent.”
While he did not anticipate a US invasion of Greenland, he suggested that global power structures had shifted stating: “If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no.
“But have we entered into a period of time when it is survival of the fittest? Then my answer is yes.”
Barrot insisted that the EU should not allow itself to be intimidated, and rather, that it “should wake up and strengthen” to a new and concerning era.
The comments came in response to Trump’s declaration, just two weeks ahead of his inauguration at the White House on 20 January, that the US should buy Greenland.
Taking to Truth Social last month, the president-elect wrote: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
But Greenland prime minister Mute Egede has insisted that Greenland was an unobtainable target for Trump.
“We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” he said 23 December just hours after Trump announced his plans to nominate Paypal co-founder Ken Howery for US ambassador to Denmark.
The furor over the Arctic island with 56,000 inhabitants erupted in tandem with the unofficial arrival of Donald Trump Jr in the capital of Nuuk Tuesday.
Greenland’s Ministry of Independence and Foreign Affairs insisted that they had no intention of meeting with the president-elect’s eldest.
A statement read Tuesday: “Since the visit is not official, the Government of Greenland or their representatives will not meet with Donald Trump Jr. Greenland is open and those who wish to visit us are welcome.”
The president-elect also stated that he might use “economic force” to take hold of Canada by enlisting it as the 51st US state.
He flaunted the suggestion on Truth Social Tuesday by posting a map that omitted the borders between Canada and the U.S.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation from office Monday after facing calls to step down following low approval ratings, dismissed Trump’s suggestions, responding in a post on X: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.
“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner,” he added.
