A Danish Air Force transport plane brought soldiers to the Greenland capital of Nuuk. (January 15, 2026)Image: keystone
After the fruitless negotiations in Washington, various European NATO countries are sending military contingents to Greenland. The NATO defense alliance finds itself increasingly in a catastrophe scenario.
Jan 15, 2026, 9:49 p.mJan 15, 2026, 9:49 p.m
Remo Hess, Brussels / ch media
A NATO country is so afraid of another NATO country that it asks its friends for military assistance? It sounds absurd, but it has now become reality in the Greenland dispute between US President Donald Trump and the Danish government.
At the invitation of Denmark – and of course Greenland – Germany, France, Norway and Sweden are sending soldiers to Greenland. The French had already arrived on Thursday. The Germans will follow on Friday.
The announcements came on the very day in Washington Meeting between the Danish-Greenlandic delegation and the Americans went over the stage without any results. The timing is anything but random.
Are the Europeans now gathering a military force off the icy coasts of Greenland to oppose Trump in the event of an impending invasion? It’s not that far yet.
Danish warship “Knud Rasmussen” on patrol. (January 15, 2026).Image: keystone
Europeans make improvisational theater for Trump
It is just a handful of European military personnel who are now being deployed to Greenland. From France, for example, there are 15 mountain troops. The German Bundeswehr is sending 13 specialists for an “exploration mission”. In Norway and Sweden there are some staff officers. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands each provide a liaison officer.
The aim is to prepare a joint exercise called “Arctic Endurance”. Among other things, runways are inspected, the sea depth of ports is measured, and logistics options are examined. What you do as an advance guard in preparation for an exercise. The mission will be over in two days, according to defense circles involved.
When and in what context a major military exercise will actually take place is completely unclear at this point. The idea for “Arctic Endurance” came about spontaneously and under the influence of the developments of the last few days.
Greenland is an obsession of Trump alone
But of course the symbolism is colossal and unprecedented within the NATO defense alliance. A military confrontation between Europe and its most powerful allies, the USA – or just the appearance of one? That would mean an immediate meltdown of the defense alliance. It is therefore understandable that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has remained surprisingly quiet in the past few days. He has to navigate between the fronts and try to somehow hold the NATO store together. His job has probably never been more difficult than it is now.
The question still arises as to what exactly Trump actually wants from Greenland. He can keep North America safe with the US military presence on the island also ensure this. American companies already have privileged access to the extraction of natural resources. All that’s actually left is the prestige of having expanded the territory of the United States.
However, apart from Trump and his inner circle, hardly any Americans seem to be interested in this. No more than 17 percent think it would be a good idea if the USA took over the island. Only four percent support using military force to enforce the annexation, according to a representative survey commissioned by the Reuters news agency on Thursday.
Even among Trump’s Republicans, a majority of 60 percent are clearly against military deployment. Only eight percent agree to take coercive action against a NATO ally.
When asked by Reuters about the survey, Trump said it was “fake”.
The Swiss are more critical of Trump than Europeans
Meanwhile shows another surveythat Donald Trump’s erratic policies are increasingly reflected in Europe’s perception of the USA as a whole. Only 16 percent of those surveyed still see the USA as an ally “that shares our interests and values”. Meanwhile, a majority of 51 percent think that the USA is at most “a necessary partner with whom one should cooperate strategically”. And 12 percent think that the USA has become a “rival” with which they are in competition.
For Switzerland the numbers are even more pronounced. Here only eight percent see the USA as a value partner. And only 42 percent can warm to the USA as a “necessary, strategic partner”. In contrast, 18 percent of Swiss people think that the USA is a “rival” with which they are in competition. 21 percent even see Washington as an “enemy” with whom they are in conflict.
The survey was commissioned by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the University of Oxford. (aargauerzeitung.ch)