European leaders meet in Germany on Monday to discuss North Sea energy and security cooperation, but fears over US designs on the Arctic island of Greenland may overshadow the talks, APA reports, citing France 24.
The region has long worried about threats posed by Russia, but more recently, tensions have surged over US President Donald Trump's push for the autonomous territory of Denmark.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hosts the talks just days after Trump backed away from his threat to seize Greenland by force and level punitive tariffs against European NATO allies who stand in his way.
Trump said he had reached a "framework" agreement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, but this sparked both relief and confusion as the details have not been disclosed.
"We will have to pay increased attention to all parts of NATO's European territory," Merz said Thursday after an extraordinary European Council meeting.
"This concerns the North above all."
On the guest list Monday will be Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who visited Greenland on Friday, and representatives of NATO and the European Commission as well as Iceland.
Leaders from Norway, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, and Luxembourg are also expected, while Britain and France are sending ministers to the summit in the northern port city of Hamburg.
"Given the make-up of the meeting, I am certain that security in the High North will also be of interest to the participants," said Steffen Meyer, spokesman for Merz.
Formally, the aim of the summit is to push cross-border expansion of offshore wind energy, the hydrogen market and interconnected offshore infrastructure.
Security fears will be high on the agenda as the North and adjoining Baltic Seas have long been the targets of so-called "hybrid attacks" widely blamed on Russia.
