Donald Trump's threat to use military force to annex Greenland has been met with a timid response by the European Commission.
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00:00I've been told that for a long time, long before I even read it.
00:03The future U.S. president's threats to Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, have received a
00:08timid response from Brussels.
00:12Although Donald Trump has not ruled out a military intervention to annex the island,
00:17a spokesperson for the European Commission has defined it as fairly wild hypothetical
00:22stuff.
00:23Many threats, which did not materialize, and we don't see any need at this moment in time
00:39to go beyond what we have said.
00:43Trump had already expressed interest in buying the Danish autonomous territory during his
00:48previous term in office, and has now given his desire a new impetus with a visit by his
00:53son to Greenland.
00:56But both Denmark and Greenland's prime ministers have reiterated that Greenland is not for
01:00sale and that its sovereignty belongs to its citizens.
01:04Brussels also insists on this point.
01:08Just as a matter of principle, for us it is clear the sovereignty of states has to be
01:14respected.
01:15The melting of the Arctic ice, which opens up the possibility of exploiting Greenland's
01:19natural resources as well as increasing maritime routes in the area, are key to understanding
01:24Trump's fixation.
01:26However, Brussels recalls that the mutual protection clause between member states in
01:32the event of military intervention would also apply for Greenland.