The European Commission has proposed a substantial increase in EU support to Greenland in the next seven-year budget, earmarking about €530 million for the 2028–2034 period. The envelope—reported by several outlets following the Commission’s publication of its second sectoral package—would represent more than a two-fold rise on current levels.
Under the plan, annual EU support for Greenland would climb from roughly €32 million to nearly €76 million from 2028. The increase sits within a broader proposal to reinforce the instrument for the EU’s Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs), with the Commission indicating a total allocation of “almost €1 billion” for all 13 OCTs in 2028–2034.
Greenland is one of 13 OCTs associated with the EU via special constitutional links to Denmark, France and the Netherlands. OCTs are not part of the EU or its single market, but they maintain association arrangements under the Decision on the Overseas Association, including Greenland (DOAG). The Commission and EU institutions list 13 OCTs, including French Polynesia, New Caledonia and the French Southern and Antarctic Territories.
In the current 2021–2027 cycle, EU funding for Greenland totals €225 million, with approximately 90% directed to education and 10% to “green growth”. That framework made Greenland the largest single OCT beneficiary of EU support. The planned 2028–2034 uplift would significantly expand that partnership if agreed by Member States and the European Parliament.
The Commission framed the reinforced OCT instrument in geopolitical terms, describing these territories as “critical outposts of the Union” in their respective regions and proposing a separate, strengthened budget line for 2028–2034. The new long-term budget proposal—presented in July and completed with sectoral texts on 3 September—sets out the architecture for external action, alongside a streamlined Global Europe instrument.
Greenland’s prominence has increased amid renewed strategic competition in the Arctic. In 2025, reports and statements revived debate in Washington about control of the island. Donald Trump said in May he would not rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland, while separate Reuters reporting in January noted he had not excluded military or economic action in pursuit of the island. Subsequent U.S. diplomatic messaging, however, reaffirmed Greenland’s right to self-determination following Danish concerns over alleged influence efforts.
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Copenhagen and Nuuk have responded consistently that Greenland is not for sale and that decisions on its future rest with Greenlanders within the Kingdom of Denmark. Those positions have been reiterated by Danish and Greenlandic leaders throughout 2025 as outside interest has intensified.
The EU’s long-term budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), is adopted under a special legislative procedure. Following a Commission proposal, the Council must act unanimously, with the consent of the European Parliament. Sectoral programmes linked to the MFF then proceed under their specific legal bases. Negotiations on the 2028–2034 package are expected to run into 2026–2027, with the new framework due to take effect on 1 January 2028.
If approved, the higher EU allocation would give Nuuk a larger, multi-year funding line anchored in the existing EU–Greenland association regime. Present priorities—education and skills, plus green transition—could be scaled up, while the Commission’s justification emphasises the OCTs’ strategic relevance. The proposal’s passage will depend on the wider MFF bargaining process, in which Member States balance competing envelopes across internal and external headings.
