No one can know whether there are secret supplementary agreements to the agreement signed on Monday by the United States, the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland. We can only take as our basis the text published by the Danish Prime Minister’s Office.
Many have speculated about what it might contain. I have done so too, based on what American government sources have let slip. The official text, which is now available in English, Greenlandic and Danish, confirms what I wrote a few days ago, and the usual complainers and Trump-haters could have spared themselves the trouble.
Here is my assessment of the most important provisions of the wordy treaty:
It confirms Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland, but also Greenland’s right to declare itself an independent state.
The agreement emphasises the United States’ contribution to the defence of Greenland and ‘the irreplaceable role that the U.S. military plays in the defence of Greenlandic territory, both now and in the future’.
The parties grant the United States unrestricted military access to Greenlandic territory, which means, among other things, that Greenlandic territory will form part of the establishment of Donald Trump’s planned Golden Dome defence system.
The agreement states that ‘real, concrete and significant benefits for the Greenlandic people may arise from the Defence Areas’. Accordingly, the United States shall
‘to the greatest extent possible, award Greenlandic suppliers all commercial contracts for goods and services related to the establishment, maintenance and servicing, including, but not limited to, construction and demolition projects, of Defence Areas in Greenland, taking into account the capacity and ability of such suppliers to perform such contracts’.
That sounds promising, but there are hardly any Greenlandic companies capable of undertaking such tasks. Greenland’s economy would collapse if Danish taxpayers were not willing to cover half of the island’s national income. When the ambitious Greenlandic politicians secede from the Danish Realm (Rigsfællesskabet) in a few years’ time, they will stand hat in hand in Washington and ask the United States to finance the welfare state that the Danes have built up – receiving nothing but ingratitude for it.
The United States is granted the right to modernise and expand its activities at Pituffik Space Base and establish an additional Defence Area at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig. In addition, the United States is granted the right to ‘fly over and land in any area in Greenland’.
‘The Kingdom of Denmark … will continue to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic through a comprehensive, multi-domain approach encompassing land, maritime, air and space capabilities.’
‘Through increased presence, enhanced surveillance and strengthened cooperation and interoperability with NATO Allies, the Kingdom of Denmark will continue to address emerging threats and contribute to collective stability and security in the Arctic.’
Few were aware that Denmark had a military presence in Greenland, apart from the Sirius Patrol, which has frightened many a polar bear. But Denmark has thus promised to invest more in Greenland’s defence. That will no doubt go well, when large parts of Danish tax revenues are earmarked for paying people who cannot be bothered to work, and immigrant Muslims who, with state support, work to undermine the constitution. It is almost touching that the Danish government has the resources to take an interest in Greenland while it is busily handing Denmark over to Muhammad.
One of the agreement’s most important provisions is that countries that are not members of NATO may not have any military presence in Greenland. No state that is not a member of NATO shall be permitted to establish its own manned or unmanned military installations in Greenland, nor shall a permanent presence of military forces in Greenland be permitted, unless otherwise agreed between the parties.
In addition, the following applies: Countries that
‘are not a NATO member, NATO partner or EU Member State shall not be permitted to exercise control, significant influence or obtain access to non-public information that could pose a threat to national security or public order, within particularly sensitive sectors or activities in Greenlandic territory (including territorial waters), unless it is agreed between the parties that the activities of such states or investors do not pose a threat to national security or public order’.
Even after the Greenlanders have withdrawn from the Danish Realm, the agreement will continue to apply.
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