Kubilius’ words mark the first time a top EU official has publicly backed Frederiksen’s position, although EU diplomats privately agree with her.
“I will also make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO, and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen said in a Jan. 5 interview with broadcaster TV2.
The statement contrasts, though, with that of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who today insisted the alliance is not in crisis.
Trump was asked in a two-hour interview with the New York Times on Jan. 7 whether acquiring Greenland mattered more to him than preserving the military alliance.
The U.S. leader did not answer the question directly but acknowledged that his administration may have to choose between the two.
EU diplomats who spoke to POLITICO tended not to believe the U.S. will use military force to take over Greenland, but agreed that Trump will get something from the pressure he has been applying — at the very least a beefed-up European military presence.