From Paris to Berlin and Brussels, European leaders on Wednesday rebuffed Donald Trump's threat to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, reminding him to respect international borders.
On Tuesday, less than two weeks before being sworn in, the Republican billionaire, who takes office in the White House on 20 January, made territorial claims on the island, which his son, Donald Trump Jr, was visiting as a "tourist" on the same day.
Trump Sr. said acquiring Greenland and retaking control of the Panama Canal were in America’s national security interests, and he refused to rule out military force or economic pressure to achieve either.
'The inviolability of borders applies to every country'
European capitals were quick to react. In an unusual move, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz summoned the press for a brief speech in Berlin, expressing a "certain incomprehension" among European leaders about Mr Trump's statements.
He reminded the future president, without naming him, that "the principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it lies to the east of us or the west."
"Every state must comply with it, whether it is a small country [...] or a very powerful state," the German leader added. "It is a fundamental principle of international law and a key part of what we call Western values."
'Europe needs to take precautions'
Earlier, in Paris, the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot, said there was ‘no question’ of the European Union allowing countries "to attack its sovereign borders."
The French government spokesperson, Sophie Primas, denounced "a form of imperialism." and warned that "more than ever, we and our European partners need to be aware, to get away from a form of naivety, to take precautions, to rearm."
In Brussels, the European Union described Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland as extremely "hypothetical," while stressing its attachment to the sovereignty of individual states.
The 27 Member States are all the more concerned because Article 42.7 of the Lisbon Treaty, the mutual defence clause between EU Member States, applies to Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, as European Commission spokesperson Paola Pinho pointed out.
"In general, it is clear to us that the sovereignty of States must be respected," Anitta Hipper, the Commission's spokesperson for foreign affairs, added, while refusing to mention “specific” cases.
Denmark calls for calm
Donald Trump had already mentioned the idea of buying Greenland during his first term in office, to which the local authorities gave him a curt refusal. However, it was not possible to say whether his new statements reflected serious plans or were provocations designed to extract concessions.
The Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, called for calm. "Let us keep a cool head," he said, adding: "we look forward to resuming cooperation with the new US administration and Donald Trump." He also said Denmark was open to a dialogue with the US on how the two countries can cooperate in the Arctic.
The autonomous Danish territory, which is seeking to gain sovereignty but remains financially dependent on Copenhagen, is coveted for its natural resources - although oil prospecting and uranium mining are banned - and for its geostrategic importance: the United States already has a military base there.
