EU will not allow attacks on its borders, France says after Trump's Greenland threat

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - PARIS — The EU will not allow other countries to attack its sovereign borders, France's foreign minister said on Wednesday, after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out using military action to seize Greenland.

Trump on Tuesday reiterated his desire to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of EU member Denmark, and the Panama Canal. He would not rule out using military or economic force to do so, saying "we need them for economic security".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told French radio on Wednesday that "there is no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be, attack its sovereign borders".

"We are a strong continent," he told France Inter.

Barrot said he did not believe the US would invade Greenland, but said the world had "entered into a period of time when it is survival of the fittest".

He urged the European Commission to do more to protect the bloc from interference or threats of interference, saying that "we must wake up and build up our strength."

The Commission on Wednesday refused to rebuke Trump for his threats, with a spokesperson dodging questions on the issue at a press conference in Brussels and simply saying "it's clear the sovereignty of states has to be respected".

Trump, whose latest comments come less than two weeks before he takes office on 20 January, has repeatedly mooted the idea of buying Greenland — which marks a rejection of decades of US policy that has prioritised self-determination over territorial expansion.

Greenland, home to a large US military base, has been part of Denmark for more than 600 years and gained broad self-governing autonomy in 2009. The Arctic island's Prime Minister, Mute Egede, is pushing for independence and has made clear the territory is not for sale. Denmark has also emphasised that Greenland belongs to its inhabitants.

Speaking later on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters that Greenland "has its own ambitions" and may become independent in the future, although "hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States".

Rasmussen — who praised Barrot's comments — also said that the US' security concerns in the Arctic were valid.

"We are open to dialogue with the Americans on how we can possibly cooperate even more closely than we do to ensure that the American ambitions are fulfilled," he said, echoing similar remarks made on Tuesday by Danish PM Mette Frederiksen.

In his interview with France Inter radio, Barrot also said the EU must make better use of its laws to tackle outside interference and combat social media posts following a string of comments about European politics by US tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk.

The tech mogul, who has been charged with leading Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, has in recent weeks criticised a string of European leaders from the UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Musk has also expressed his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for February.

Barrot said the Commission must "make much more vigorous use of the tools [it has] been given to deter such behaviour".

“Either Elon Musk, when he intervenes in the public debate in certain European electoral debates, does so for the buzz and that is extremely regrettable, or he does so by assuming new alliances with ultra-right parties like the AfD in Germany", Barrot added.

Asked about a potential ban on X in France, similar to one that was imposed for six weeks by Brazil last year, Barrot did not rule out the possibility, saying that there was a provision to do so under EU laws. — Euronews