Good morning,
The European Commission won't take a firm stand in defence of Greenland as it broadcasts contradicting messages. The confusion points to an EU institution either unwilling or incapable of standing up to US president Donald Trump.
I lean towards the former.
Yesterday, their spokesperson refused to comment on whether the EU would be obliged to help the autonomous island, following a US invasion. "We will not go at this stage into the legalities," she told reporters.
The comment came after Andrius Kubilius, the EU's defence commissioner, told Reuters that the EU would indeed have to help. He cited European Union Treaty article 42(7), a mutual defence clause that requires member states to help another that suffers from armed aggression on its territory.
Greenland is not part of the EU. But Denmark, which reigns over the island is. So is Kubilius correct?
That was the question asked during a press conference with the commission. The non-response is telling of an EU institution that had in the past pronounced itself as a geopolitical powerhouse.
It is plausible that the spokesperson doesn't know and needs to refer back to the army of lawyers working for the commission. But the same question was already asked last week and journalists were also given a non-response.
The commission has spoken out in defence of Greenland's territorial integrity. But its communication strategy on Greenland is one of an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand, hoping the issue will somehow go away.
This is not the first time and a pattern is now emerging. Whenever a commissioner makes a statement critical of the United States, the institution's spin doctors bury their heads.
Last week, commission vice-president Teresa Ribera described the United States as a threat, in a post on BlueSky.
"It's not for me to agree or disagree," a commission spokesperson told reporters, when asked if the institution supports Ribera's assessment.
- Nikolaj Nielsen, home-affairs editor
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