Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has said that the territory has no intention of joining either the European Union or the United States, despite calling for closer cooperation with Europe.
In a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday, the leader reiterated the firm position of the semi-autonomous Arctic territory, which belongs to the Danish crown: it will not join any country or organisation.
“Let me say this clearly, we are not going to join another country,” Nielsen told reporters when asked about Donald Trump’s repeated attempts to acquire the territory.
He also stressed that Greenland has no desire to join the EU, although it is seeking a more concrete partnership with the bloc.
“So no, we are not seeking to be a member of the European Union and we are definitely not seeking to be a part of another country,” he asserted.
Nielsen said he aims to strengthen cooperation in several key areas, including education, natural resource exploitation, tourism, and the development of renewable energy.
In his address, the Prime Minister highlighted a number of issues and reminded the EU that Greenland holds 24 of the 34 critical minerals identified by the bloc.
