Washington, United States. U.S. President Donald Trump linked his push to take control of Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, as a dispute over the island raised tensions with Europe and threatened to revive trade conflict.
Greenland dispute and trade risks
Trump has intensified efforts to seek sovereignty over Greenland from Denmark, a fellow NATO member, and has threatened punitive tariffs on countries that oppose his position. The European Union has weighed responding with its own measures.
The dispute has raised concerns about the stability of NATO, which has underpinned Western security for decades and has faced strain over the war in Ukraine and Trump’s stance on defending allies that do not spend enough on defence.
It has also increased uncertainty in EU-U.S. trade relations after the two sides reached a trade deal last year in response to Trump’s tariffs. The EU is the United States’ biggest export market.
Message to Norway’s prime minister
In a written message to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere seen by Reuters, Trump said: “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”
Trump also repeated his accusation that Denmark cannot protect Greenland from Russia or China. “… and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway?” he wrote, adding: “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”
Nobel Peace Prize decision
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, not Trump. Machado gave her medal last week to Trump during a White House meeting, though the Nobel Committee said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
Tariff plans
Trump said on Saturday he would implement increasing tariffs from Feb. 1 on EU members Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, as well as Britain and Norway, until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.
How do you think the Greenland dispute could affect future EU-U.S. trade relations?