On Jun 15, French President Macron is going to visit Greenland for a meeting about national security and climate change with the two other prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland, even though American President Donald Trump threatens to annex both Greenland and Canada.

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen invited Macron to a meeting in Greenland concerning the security of the Arctic regions. Macron’s announcement about the meeting also includes the topic of “climate change, energy transition and security in the supply of critical minerals.” The meeting is on June 15th and Macron flies to Canada for the Group 7 meeting afterwards, starting on June 15th and continuing until June 17th. This invitation follows Trump’s continuous threats about conquering Greenland and also Canada.

“I think there’s a good possibility that we could do it without military force,” said Trump to NBC in March. However, Trump still hasn’t stopped his campaigning despite strong disagreement from the Greenlanders. A recent survey shows that 85% of the people living in Greenland don’t want to join the United States. The new political party there has also deliberately pulled Greenland further from the United States.

Macron also has a long history with Trump. Even while remaining friendly on the outside and frequently calling each other, they have a tense relationship. They both have very different opinions about many subjects like the European Union and other political forces. For example, while Macron “is a strong supporter of the European Union”, Trump believes that the EU is just an “anti-American creation”. Earlier this year, France’s foreign minister even offered to send soldiers to Greenland to protect it from American forces.

Macron’s visit to Greenland and then to Canada may increase the tension between these two powerful country leaders and may even lead to tensions between Europe and the United States. Moreover, Greenland is a very important and strategic piece of land, containing 31 of the 34 critical minerals that the European Union defined. This emphasizes Trump’s wish to have Greenland and the conflict this wish then starts.

This meeting will also help assert the defiance of France and the rest of Europe in front of the United States and help them defend themselves from Trump together. This meeting is very important in the aspects of uniting Europe together and then helping each other in the future.