The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will travel this Sunday and Monday to Greenland, where she will hold meetings with the Greenlandic Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen; the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, and the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands. The purpose of the trip is to emphasize the European Union's involvement with the Arctic region and its security.
The announcement was made this Thursday by the chief spokesperson of Von der Leyen's community executive, Paula Pinho, at a press conference in Brussels. There she specified that, during the stay, the German conservative leader will sign a joint declaration between the European Union and Greenland.
"This visit underscores Europe's commitment to the Arctic, to its security and cooperation, a key priority for the European Union," the community spokesperson pointed out, also indicating that Von der Leyen will be accompanied by the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, and the special advisor for Arctic relations, Jyrki Katainen.
Von der Leyen was scheduled to travel to the Arctic island last February, but the agenda was modified and the trip was postponed following the early call for elections in Denmark for March 24.
The context of the trip is marked by the repeated claims of the United States this year regarding the sovereignty of Greenland, justified by national security arguments, and even by threats to impose tariffs on several member states for participating in a military observation mission on the island.
Von der Leyen's previous visit to Greenland took place in March 2024, a trip that preceded the opening of a Union office in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, in 2025. The community president has defended on other occasions the "very good connection" of Brussels with the population of Greenland and has insisted that the future of the Arctic island should be decided by its own citizens.