First we take Maduro, then we take Greenland?
Blog post, 03/01/2026, by Sven Franck (en français , in Deutsch) -
TL;DR – With the US not being coy about its objections to a United Europe, member states having nuclear arms and limiting free speech, one has to wonder when Denmark will loose Greenland or helicopters will exfiltrate Emmanuel Macron after Marine LePen is declared ineligible for the 2027 presidential elections. Are we ready for MAGA-foreign policy?
A special military operation is a special military operation
We did not stay silent when Russia launched it's 3 day operation to capture Ukraine and president Zelenskyy. You may like or dislike the Venezuelan president and question the legitimacy of his regime but the world is worse off with two geopolitical superpowers blocking the UN from being the maintainer of the international order. And it must be this international order which has to hold Putin, Trump and also Maduro accountable.
Let's be honest: it's all about resources. Ukraine is one of the world's principal grain producers, it has rare earths and abducting its children can also help alleviate a Russian demographic crisis. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves on the planet. We should call a spade a spade.
Make no mistake: Europe's international credibility, if not its future, is also at stake here. If we're condemning Russia for invading Ukraine but make only lackluster statements in Venezuela, why should the world care when the US facilitates regime change in Germany or France? Worse, if we fail to unite Europe, why should France care for US-engineered regime change in Germany or vice-versa? Divided we fall and our national leaders remain unwilling to unite Europe.
Who's next? Greenland!
The next domino could be Greenland. A quick operation to welcome the 51st state of the US - rich in natural resources and with enviable geographic position. Even better, it would also break with NATO and rid Donald Trump from security commitments in Europe. How to prevent this? By member states not acting like dominos that fall one after another by moving closer together.
If Europe wanted to send a strong signal, it would demand Maduro to be held accountable before international institutions instead of a US show-trial and with this request, also demand that these institutions should be able to hold anyone accountable - including the US president.
And the EU should raise the stakes. The EU Rapid Deployment Capacity is operational. If there is no unanimity to send it to Greenland to protect EU territory, member states should commit equivalents to support Denmark - in return for demanding Denmark to help advancing European integration. The time is now: #jumpstartEU.