The United States and Greenland: What if a NATO member attacks another NATO member? 
“We need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”
— Donald Trump, addressing Congress on Greenland, March 4th 2025.

The United States’ longstanding interest in Greenland—from Secretary Seward’s failed purchase attempt in 1867 to its $100 million Cold War bid in 1946—reflects its strategic value. Today, as Trump renews efforts to acquire the territory, a critical legal question arises: What happens if a NATO ally, like the U.S., threatens or uses force against another, such as Denmark (Greenland’s sovereign counterpart)? Both nations have been bound by NATO’s Article 5 since 1949, which treats an attack on one as an attack on all. Could such a breach trigger collective defence, or would it unravel the alliance entirely?

This symposium will examine the legal paradox of intra-NATO conflict, from treaty violations to the limits of Article 5, alongside its historical precedents and geopolitical fallout. Join URIOS on Wednesday, the 30th of  April from 19:30h-21:30h at Janskerkhof Room 013 as our experts in international law dissect the legal and political implications of President Trump’s intentions.

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