the President of the European Commission in Greenland

Ursula von der Leyen is visiting this Friday in this autonomous region of the Danish kingdom, which is full of rare earths essential to the ecological transition, but also oil and gas. A territory also coveted by China and the United States.

After a stopover in the Faroe Islands on Thursday, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, is in Greenland this Friday March 15, 2024 for a hunting trip for strategic materials. This gigantic Arctic territory, attached to Denmark, is a rather rare and unusual destination for an official trip, but which is now proving to be highly strategic. Greenland is full of materials essential to the great powers, if they want to maintain their energy independence, this is the big subject of the moment.

And with this in mind, Greenland is a bit of a treasure island: 25 of the 34 critical materials sought by the European Union and others are buried in Greenland’s soil, in very large quantities. These are rare earths and metals essential to the European ecological transition. But Greenland also has oil, gas and copper. Ursula von der Leyen is there for this reason, to open a permanent EU office on the island and see if the Europeans’ commercial approach can appeal to the Greenlandic authorities.

The Chinese and Americans have already been at it for several years. But once is not customary, after proudly announcing in 2017 the creation of a “Polar Silk Road“, the Chinese have officially drawn a line under the Greenlandic stage. Their iron and uranium mining projects have been suspended. And Beijing has withdrawn its offers to build two airports under pressure from the United States, which have a military base in Greenland. The Chinese initiative suddenly awakened Washington. It was at that time, in 2019, that Donald Trump considered buying Greenland. A proposal considered absurd by Denmark and immediately rejected by Greenland.

Nearly 100 million investments in exchange for access to deposits

Denmark, a member of the European Union, is a major asset for Ursula von der Leyen’s strategy. She was also accompanied by the Danish Prime Minister to detail the new partnership between the EU and Greenland. There is talk of 22 million euros of investments in sustainable development and 71 million in education, in exchange for access to deposits of critical materials. Ursula von der Leyen is also trying to obtain a guarantee that Greenland does not turn to other clients.

“As the ice melts, states like Russia and China are increasingly imposing their presence in the region. This is why democracies like ours in Greenland and Europe need to strengthen their political ties. C “is the beginning of a new era which concretizes the presence of the European Union in Greenland and the Arctic. And Mr Prime Minister, this house of Europe is also yours”, declared the President of the European Commission. Europe is opening its doors wide and if Ursula von der Leyen is so hospitable, it is because she knows that in Greenland the independence movement is progressing little by little. And this movement has always seen the potential for Chinese investment as a solid path to freedom from Denmark.