If Germany can live with Eurobonds, Denmark can pave the way for EU military

European army? It's about time.
European army? It's about time.

Blog post, 05/01/2026, by Sven Franck (en français , in Deutsch) -

TL;DR – After the staccato of docile statements from EU and national leaders on Venezuela (kudos to Spain's Pedro Sanchez for speaking up), Trump has its eyes firmly set on Greenland. Denmark, meanwhile, refused EU and member states military support months ago. With reality biting, is it time to reconsider?

Raising the stakes

The kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Maduro was a surgical operation. Replace a president, announce to run the country and exploit Venezuela's oil reserves. No casualties, scared the world, looked good on TV. What's not to like? But imagine requiring US troops on the ground to occupy a country of 30 million inhabitants unhappy about you being there. If you're searching for quick deals and truth social likes, would you risk a full blown military conflict or are the stakes too high?

Now take Greenland: US airbase, 50 000 inhabitants, almost no military. Technically you put a flag into the ground and make it the 51st state. Who cares NATO and the international order. Trump looks great on Fox News, while leaders of Denmark and member states again "monitor the situation closely". Easy to say for the Latvian president, that Denmark is fine dealing with the US alone. Denmark could say the same to Latvia if Putin comes knocking. The question is: can uniting Europe minimize the risk of either happening by raising the stakes?

Eurobonds and EU military

Covid made Germany accept temporary "Eurobonds" and in the EU Council on financing Ukraine, Germany again opted for joint EU debt over using frozen Russian assets. Isn't the situation dire enough to go the same way with regards to an EU military?

The EU even has the Rapid Deployment Capacity (RDC, aka EU Battlegroup), which ticks all boxes for sending someone somewhere quickly. It's made for peace-keeping, security and preparation of larger deployments. 5000 strong, sitting idle since 20 years.

Imagine the EU Council voted to deploy the RDC to Greenland (yes unanimity, not only Denmark needs to agree) and that the Danish president accepted Macron's offer to bolster maritime security on the northern route - one of the bogus reasons for Trump to wanting to annex Greenland.

Like Eurobonds it would be a leap of faith: a small step towards a more united Europe but a significant risk for Trump of a full-blown conflict. Considering Trump's threat to occupy Greenland within 20 days, the question is if national leaders will dare more Europe? #jumpstartEU.