MPs back joining Nato mission to boost Greenland’s security

Parliament has backed plans by foreign affairs minister David van Weel to send extra military resources to Greenland as part of a Nato mission.

A motion tabled by the orthodox Christian SGP called for the Netherlands, together with other European nations in Nato, to increase their military presence on the island in response to US concerns about Arctic security.

American president Donald Trump has stepped up his calls in the last two weeks to take over Greenland, which is an autonomous territory within the Danish kingdom.

Van Weel said the US was rightly concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the region and the Netherlands was prepared to join other European countries in a Nato mission to defend the island.

The SGP motion was backed by the three parties negotiating to form the next government – D66, CDA and VVD – as well as BBB, Volt and the ChristenUnie.

“As soon as we have more information about such a mission, the cabinet will inform Parliament further,” Van Weel wrote in a letter to MPs.

Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen will meet his US counterpart Marco Rubio and vice-president James Vance in Washington on Wednesday to discuss Greenland’s future.

Trump says the US needs to “have ownership” of Greenland to prevent Russia or China dominating the region and has not ruled out using military force.

Denmark has repeatedly said Greenland is not for sale, while the island’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday his country did not want to become part of the United States.