Greenlanders strongly oppose joining US, survey finds

Copenhagen — More than four in five Greenlanders are opposed to becoming a part of the US, with almost one half saying they regard the interest by US President Donald Trump as a threat, according to a survey.

Trump said earlier this month that Greenland was vital to US security and Denmark should give up control of the strategically important semi-autonomous Arctic island.

The survey by pollster Verian, commissioned by the Danish newspaper Berlingske and Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, shows just 6% of Greenlanders are in favour of their island becoming part of the US, with 9% undecided.

The poll found that 45% viewed Trump’s interest in Greenland as a threat, with 43% saying they see it as an opportunity, leaving 13% undecided.

Greenland enjoys many of the same welfare benefits as Denmark such as universal healthcare and free education.

Just 8% of respondents said they would be willing to change their Danish citizenship to American; 55% said they would prefer to be Danish citizens and 37% were undecided.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday she had given full backing to the principle of maintaining respect for international borders after meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.

“I am pleased if the survey is an expression that many Greenlanders would like to see a continued close co-operation with Denmark. Probably in a different form than what we know today, because everything changes over time,” Frederiksen told Berlingske in response to the survey.

Denmark said on Monday it would spend 14.6-billion kroner ($2.04bn) on boosting its military presence in the Arctic.

Greenland — with a land mass larger than Mexico and a population of 57,000 — was granted broad self-governing autonomy in 2009, including the right to declare independence from Denmark through a referendum.

Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has stepped up a push for independence, has repeatedly said the island is not for sale and that it is up to its people to decide their future.

The US has a permanent military presence at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a strategic location for its ballistic missile early-warning system, as the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.

Reuters