![\"Jakub](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Jakub_Krupa.png\")
Jakub Krupa<\/p>\nMorning opening: Greenland working group off to rocky startJakub Krupa<\/p>\n
After meeting with the US vice-president JD Vance and state secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday, the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers announced a new diplomatic channel to discuss their \u201cfundamental\u201d disagreements over Greenland: namely, a working group with the US.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768562049_882_4560.jpg\")
The US flag is on the roof of the US embassy, with the Greenlandic flag in the foreground during a demonstration titled ‘\u2018Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders’\u2019 outside the US embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photograph: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg\/NurPhoto\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Well, it turns out the White House does not see it exactly in the same way.<\/p>\n
Karoline Leavitt, Trump\u2019s press secretary, claimed last night that the working group was actually established for the purpose of, erm, \u201ctechnical talks on the acquisition of Greenland,\u201d prompting an swift denial from Denmark\u2019s foreign minister.<\/p>\n
Responding to Danish broadcaster TV2<\/a>, Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen reiterated Denmark\u2019s red lines on territory, and hinted that if the US comes to the table with that mindset, it will be \u201ca very, very short series of meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh, well. Off to a great start.<\/p>\n In the meantime, a group of US parliamentarians is visiting Copenhagen today for talks with senior Danish and Greenlandic officials, including Rasmussen.<\/p>\n As they come to the Folketing for their meetings, the US delegation will no doubt notice a Greenlandic flag flying above the building. It\u2019s probably safe to say that they should expect Leavitt\u2019s comments to come up as a topic for discussion.<\/p>\n I will bring you the latest on Greenland here, but also on Ukraine and other news across the continent.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Friday, 16 January 2026, it\u2019s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.<\/p>\n Good morning.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Trump’s Greenland comments act as distraction from his woes in US, senator says<\/p>\n US Democratic senator Shaheen also has this theory on why Trump turned his attention to Greenland:<\/p>\n \u201cA part of me is not sure how much of this is a distraction, to try and take the attention of the American people away from some very real issues that we have in the United States right now.<\/p>\n The cost of living is a real concern for Americans [and] Donald Trump got elected saying he was going to address the cost of living. <\/p>\n He was going to address domestic issues, he was going to end forever wars, and he\u2019s not done any of that, so people are frustrated with him.<\/p>\n Also, as you may have followed the Epstein files, the paedophile in the US, it\u2019s been quite an issue, particularly in the Republican Party and among Donald Trump\u2019s followers. <\/p>\n And you know, Trump is a master of having a problem over here and saying, \u2018Oh no, don\u2019t pay attention to this problem. Look over here at this shiny object that I want people to focus on\u2019. <\/p>\n And so I don\u2019t know, who knows what [he thinks], it\u2019s hard to know what Donald Trump\u2019s real motivation is, but I do think there is some of that going on in terms of the focus on Greenland.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump watches US polls and Americans oppose use of force in Greenland, senator says<\/p>\n Shaheen then strikes a slightly more optimistic tone as she says:<\/p>\n \u201cI believe saner heads will prevail. <\/p>\n I believe that because we have institutions that are acting in the United States, on both sides of the aisle in Congress, there is overwhelming support for our relationship for Nato and among the American people.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if you all saw the recent poll that showed that 86% of Americans said they would oppose the use of military force in Greenland. And while the President doesn\u2019t listen much to Democrats in Congress, he does watch the polls in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n She says that is particularly important given it\u2019s an election year in the US, with the poll \u201cacting as a disincentive for members of Congress\u201d to back Trump on Greenland<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe conventional wisdom \u2013 knock on wood as a Democrat \u2013 is that Congress is going to flip to Democratic hands, and that that will have a check on what the President does,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n But she more broadly warns against \u201cthe idea of a world where we have no alliances, where we have abrogated the international world order\u201d as she says it would be \u201cnot safe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not safe for Americans. It\u2019s not safe for Danes and the only people who benefit from that sort of world are the autocrats in Moscow and Beijing and other autocrats around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump’s rhetoric on Greenland does ‘real damage’ to alliances, US national security and benefits Russia’s Putin, US senator says<\/p>\n Senator Shaheen goes further as she says that \u201cjust the suggestion that the US would take Greenland<\/a> by force does real damage, not just to the relationship with Greenland with Denmark, but to America\u2019s own national security.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds Trump\u2019s comments \u201cerode decades of hard won confidence among allies, and it weakens the sense of security that comes with it, and that rhetoric plays right into the hands of our greatest adversaries, Russia and China.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVladimir Putin would welcome any move that fractures Nato or diverts attention and resources away from Ukraine,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n She adds:<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re serious about limiting Russia\u2019s influence in the Arctic and beyond, the most effective way to do that is by defeating Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, and that\u2019s precisely why the current debate over Greenland makes so little sense.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds that when she met with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, this morning, they noted that \u201cif the United States wants to do certain things in Greenland, whether it\u2019s build more military bases, develop the critical minerals that are there, all we have to do is partner with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>‘Millions of Americans deeply concerned’ about Trump’s rhetoric on Greenland, senior Democrat senator says<\/p>\n US senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior Democratic member of the US delegation meeting with Danish and Greenlandic officials today, is speaking at the Copenhagen University now.<\/p>\n Shaheen, who sits on the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations stresses:<\/p>\n \u201cAll of the senators who are here are strongly supportive of the Danish-American relationship and the Nato alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here today because millions of Americans are deeply concerned about the recent rhetoric of the United States taking over Greenland, either buying it or using military force. <\/p>\n And I think that that rhetoric doesn\u2019t just undermine our relationship both with Denmark and with Greenland, but also with other Nato countries and with Europe; it undermines Nato at a time when our adversaries seek to benefit from division.\u201d<\/p>\n She then repeatedly praises US-Danish relations and links through history.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>France warns any US Greenland move could endanger trade relationship with EU France has warned the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent that taking Greenland<\/a> would be \u201ccrossing the line\u201d and could endanger the trade relationship with the EU.<\/p>\n In an interview with the FT (\u00a3)<\/a>, the country\u2019s finance minister Roland Lescure was asked if the EU would hit back with retaliatory trade sanctions if Donald Trump were to invade Greenland.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, if that happened we would be in a totally new world for sure, and we would have to adapt accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU using all its diplomatic powers to try and persuade Trump of the dangers of his ambition on Greenland, with Lescure underlining the importance of remaining in dialogue with the US despite their many differences including tariffs on steel and clashes on tech regulation,<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we disagree, it\u2019s always better to stay engaged, and that\u2019s what we are doing. The dialogue has to keep on going as long as lines that shouldn\u2019t be crossed are not crossed,\u201d he said, noting the US and France had been close allies for 250 years.<\/p>\n The minister told the FT that Bessent, who he met on Monday in Washington, told him that the US \u201cdo not like fines\u201d, a reference to the recent \u20ac120m fine on Elon Musk\u2019s X.<\/p>\n \u201cI told him that we would apply European laws to any companies that do business in Europe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He described the relationship between the US and Europe as a \u201cparadox\u201d, sometimes acting as an ally and sometimes an adversary.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Russia says Greenland is Danish as it laments ‘extraordinary’ clash over territory<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Denmark has received somewhat unexpected backing from Russia, as the Kremlin said that it considers Greenland<\/a> to be Danish territory and added that the security situation surrounding the island was \u201cextraordinary\u201d from the perspective of international law, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n The agency noted that Moscow said earlier this week that it was unacceptable for the west to keep claiming that Russia and China threatened Greenland, and said that the crisis over the territory showed the double standards of western powers which claimed moral superiority.<\/p>\n Earlier today, however, Russia\u2019s Kirill Dmitriev \u2013 Putin\u2019s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation \u2013 joked<\/a> about Greenland becoming the 51st state of the US.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.17 EST<\/p>\n Bulgaria faces snap election after leading parties refuse mandate to form government<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bulgaria\u2019s president Rumen Radev said the country will hold a snap election after leading parties refused a mandate to form a government, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n This drone aerial photograph shows the crowd shine their mobile phones as tens of thousands of protesters gathered in central Sofia to demonstrate against the Bulgarian government last month. Photograph: Dobrin Kashavelov\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The latest development comes a month on from the collapse of the previous government amid public frustration with economic policies and perceived failure to tackle corruption, and just two weeks after Bulgaria joined the eurozone.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Lithuania blames Russian military intelligence for 2024 attempted arson attack<\/p>\n The Lithuanian authorities just announced that Russia\u2019s military intelligence GRU was responsible for an attempted arson attack in 2024 on a plant that supplies radio wave scanners to Ukraine\u2019s army, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Six nationals of Spain, Colombia, Cuba, Russia and Belarus have been charged over the attempted attack, with investigators still looking for three more people, believed to be in Russia.<\/p>\n The prosecutors believe that the group also attempted arson attacks in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crimes were coordinated, and orders were issued to the executors by a group of people living in Russia, who are connected with Russia\u2019s GRU,\u201d deputy chief Saulius Briginas of Lithuania\u2019s criminal police told reporters.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Morning opening: Greenland working group off to rocky start After meeting with the US vice-president JD Vance and state secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday, the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers announced a new diplomatic channel to discuss their \u201cfundamental\u201d disagreements over Greenland: namely, a working group with the US.<\/p>\n The US flag is on the roof of the US embassy, with the Greenlandic flag in the foreground during a demonstration titled ‘\u2018Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders’\u2019 outside the US embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photograph: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg\/NurPhoto\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Well, it turns out the White House does not see it exactly in the same way.<\/p>\n Karoline Leavitt, Trump\u2019s press secretary, claimed last night that the working group was actually established for the purpose of, erm, \u201ctechnical talks on the acquisition of Greenland,\u201d prompting an swift denial from Denmark\u2019s foreign minister.<\/p>\n![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768562049_509_Lisa-OCarroll-byline-004.jpg\")
Lisa O\u2019Carroll<\/p>\nJakub Krupa<\/p>\n