Denmark’s relationship with Greenland and the Faroe Islands cannot continue indefinitely, and Donald Trump’s actions have only emphasized this. On January 15, 2025, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, had a 45-minute phone call with the American president to discuss security in the Arctic region. Later that month, it became clear that the conversation was tense and that Trump’s desire for control over Greenland was more than just talk. Denmark now has to work under crisis conditions to understand and respond to Washington’s intentions. On October 24, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen spoke with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, about Arctic security. The Danish Foreign Ministry said that the two sides agreed to discuss the issue in more detail in the future. Rasmussen stated that he intended to speak with the American side, not one-on-one, but in conjunction with a member of the Greenlandic government, on Sunday evening, January 26, 2025. Frederiksen held an informal meeting on the same day with the prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, and the president of Finland. It appears that the Danish government is urgently seeking the potential support of its northern neighbors and European partners in difficult dialogue with the US.
However, it should not be exaggerated the importance of Denmark’s steps to restrain US persistence. Many of these steps should be seen as belated attempts to fulfil long-standing promises. Even the change of the royal coat of arms by Frederick X in December 2024, which coincided with Donald Trump’s harsh statements, has been interpreted by some commentators as evidence of Copenhagen’s desire to smooth over a sudden dispute with the United States. However, in fact, Denmark has a tradition of adjusting royal symbols when there is a change in the ruling monarch. For example, Frederick IX removed the image of the Icelandic falcon from the royal coat of arms. The mother of the current King, Margrethe II, decided to abandon the outdated title “Queen of the Wends and Goths” as well as symbols of five old German lands over which Denmark had long lost control.
The main priorities of Denmark’s military planning in the Arctic region were outlined on February 11, 2021, with the presentation of a separate Arctic defense agreement. This agreement complemented the general framework document for the development of the Danish armed forces for 2018-2023, which was in effect at that time. Denmark also announced the adoption of this agreement at the NATO summit in December 2019, shortly after President Trump’s initial statement about the potential purchase of Greenland in August 2019. It took more than a year to finalize the agreement, and by January 2025, the main tasks outlined in it had not yet been completed. Even with the belated completion of these tasks, the agreement will only cover the minimum needs of Denmark’s armed forces in the region and meet only a small portion of expectations of its NATO allies. For example, the former commander of the Danish Navy, Rear Admiral Henrik Ryberg, who retired on December 1st, 2024, stated in January 2025 that, in addition to the purchase of long-range drones, the construction of radars and the launch of satellites, as provided for in the February agreement, Denmark also urgently needs the building of new warships.
The current inter-party negotiations, which have intensified after Trump’s statements, are currently only concerned with finding a fast and preferably not overly expensive replacement for the four Tethys-class patrol ships that were commissioned in the 1990s and often require repairs. The government currently advocates replacing these four aging ships with two newer ones as soon as possible, while the opposition believes their number should be increased. In addition, there are still discussions ongoing about a larger and more long-term fleet construction plan, known as the Flådeplan, which is expected to last for the next 20 years and should breathe new life into the Danish shipyards. Since at least 2022, there has been a competition for potential orders in connection with this plan.
So, in November 2024, the municipalities on the island of Funen proposed that it would be possible to build around 55 warships at their existing shipyards over the next 20 to 30 years. Similarly, the design company OSK Design and the Jutland shipyards stated that according to their plan, it is feasible to construct 5 ships for environmental protection purposes by 2027, replacing the current four, which are not in the best technical condition as they have been in service since the 1990s. However, without a plan being adopted and approved by political parties and with the allocation of budgetary funds, all these proposals remain suspended in the air.
Thus, the sequence of decisions by the Danish government in 2019-2021 and at the turn of 2024-2025 largely coincides. This suggests that, in both cases, the primary reason for the statements by the American president is the growing frustration of the United States with Denmark’s ability to adequately ensure the military security of Greenland and the adjacent waters.
to be continued
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