Greenland bans foreign political donations amid Trump threat

Greenland’s parliament has introduced a law prohibiting foreign political donations, following US President Donald Trump’s threats to take control of the semi-autonomous territory.

The new law, whose aim is to protect “Greenland's political integrity”, was approved and went into effect on Tuesday.

According to the words of the bill itself, the legislation “must be seen in light of the geopolitical interests in Greenland and the current situation where representatives of an allied great power have expressed interest in taking over and controlling Greenland”.

The measure also limits domestic political donations. Private contributions to a single party cannot exceed 200,000 Danish kroner (€17,170) in total, while individuals cannot give more than 20,000 kroner (€1,717).

Kent Fridberg, a senior legal officer at Greenland's parliament, described the bill as “basically a preventative measure”.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to gain control of Greenland, which he argues is of vital national security interest because of its strategic location in the Arctic.

Speaking before his inauguration last month, the now US president did not rule out achieving this goal through force.

On a recent day-long trip to Greenland, his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr, told inhabitants: “We're going to treat you well.”

Múte Egrede, the island’s prime minister, has dismissed Trump's stated ambitions, insisting that Greenland — which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but has a high degree of autonomy — is not for sale.

The majority of Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants agree, with a survey last month showing that 85% of them did not want their island to become part of the US. Only 6% were in favour, while a further 9% were undecided.

Greenland’s parliament has also taken other actions to ward off foreign threats. On Monday, politicians approved regulations which aim to restrict land purchases from non-citizens unless they have been living in Greenland for at least two years.

The territory will hold elections on 11 March, with Egrede calling for unity at “a time like we have never experienced in our country”.