Denmark and the U.S. have a "fundamental disagreement" over the future of Greenland, said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen on Wednesday after talks with United States Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, reported Xinhua. On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that the U.S. needs Greenland, while several European countries announced that they would send military personnel to the island for training missions. The Greenland dispute has exposed an uncomfortable question Europe can no longer avoid: Will Europe be able to safeguard its own territory, like Greenland? What are the practical challenges confronting Europe on its path to strategic autonomy? European observers warn that, amid shifting transatlantic relations, Europe may remain stuck in an awkward position of neither trusting the U.S. nor achieving strategic autonomy. SYMBOLIC TROOP DEPLOYMENTS The Trump administration has repeatedly signaled its intention to obtain Greenland and has claimed that the use of force cannot be ruled out. Under continued pressure from Washington, Denmark's Ministry of Defense and Greenland's autonomous government said on Wednesday that they had decided to establish "a more permanent and larger military presence" in and around Greenland, including participation by NATO allies, and described the move as "a clear response to the challenges facing the Arctic." Located in northeastern North America, Greenland, the world's largest island, is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, while Copenhagen retains authority over defense and foreign policy. The United States maintains a military base on the island. European media reported that several European countries have confirmed their participation, at Denmark's invitation, in a multinational reconnaissance mission to be conducted in Greenland. In a statement released Wednesday, the German Ministry of Defense said the mission is to explore framework conditions for potential military support to Denmark in ensuring security in the region. For example, the team will look into capabilities such as maritime surveillance. France, Sweden, and Germany have all said they would send personnel to Greenland, though the deployments are limited in scale. Germany, for example, announced it would dispatch only a team of 13 personnel. European analysts believe that these troop deployments carry limited practical significance, serving mainly as symbolic gestures of support for Denmark and signals of concern over Arctic security. Tim Haesebrouck, assistant professor of international politics at Ghent University, said European countries lack the capacity to engage in direct military confrontation with the U.S., noting that at any stage of potential escalation, the balance of military power would favor Washington. A military takeover of Greenland could be feasible for the U.S., and the real challenge lies in post-conflict administration, said Ian Lesser, a distinguished fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. URGENT CALLS TO REDUCE DEPENDENCE In response to Trump's threats over Greenland, Camille Grand, former NATO assistant secretary general, said the situation once again underscored the need for Europe to reduce its security dependence on the U.S. Since Trump returned to the White House in 2025, transatlantic relations have undergone noticeable changes. Frictions within the alliance, long described as being based on shared security interests and values, have intensified, reinforcing Europe's willingness to pursue strategic autonomy. From wielding tariffs against the European Union to pressuring European allies to sharply increase defense spending, from demanding that Europe assume the "primary responsibility" for Ukraine's security to repeatedly expressing a desire to seize Greenland, the Trump administration's "America First" stance has continued to strain transatlantic ties. Tensions were further heightened late last year when Washington released a National Security Strategy report that called for deeper U.S. involvement in European affairs and portrayed Europe increasingly as an ideological and geopolitical rival. An article in The Guardian described the report as marking a "seismic shift" in transatlantic relations, noting that elements of hostility toward Europe had been incorporated into U.S. national strategy. Such changes have made Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy more urgent. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for greater European autonomy, arguing that the EU should be able to safeguard its own defense and security and independently control the technologies and energy driving its economic growth. Dan Krause, programme director for European and International Politics at Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung, a German think tank, told Xinhua that as the U.S. is targeting the EU on its values and even its civilization, and is opposing multilateralism, the traditional ally can't be compatible with European interests. A genuinely strategic autonomous Europe can actually improve relations with the U.S., because only on this basis can "Europe speak on equal footing, from an independent position," he said. THREE DILEMMAS CAST LONG SHADOWS The Greenland issue also highlights the practical challenges confronting Europe. European commentators note that security and defense autonomy lies at the core of Europe's strategic autonomy, yet three major dilemmas make genuine defense independence difficult to achieve. The first is the capability gap. Analysts argue that Europe needs to reduce its dependence on the U.S. in areas such as the military industry, intelligence capabilities, and cross-border military mobility. However, decades of reliance on Washington have made "security dependence on the U.S." Europe's greatest vulnerability. Research by the U.S.-based Atlas Institute for International Affairs shows that U.S. military procurement to European allies surged from an average of 11 billion U.S. dollars between 2017 and 2021 to 68 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The BBC has reported that Europe remains heavily dependent on the U.S. for intelligence gathering, command and control, and air capabilities. The second dilemma is internal division. Debates over defense autonomy have persisted in Europe for years, yet member states continue to differ in priorities and positions. Some countries prefer to continue to rely on the U.S. security guarantees, while others push for greater independence. Disagreements also persist over whether to strengthen intergovernmental defense cooperation or advance EU-level collective defense efforts. Whether Europe can forge a unified political resolve will be crucial to the progress of defense autonomy. Last but not least, the financial pressure. Driven by the Ukraine crisis and rising transatlantic tensions, EU defense spending has continued to increase. The European Defence Agency estimates that EU defense expenditure will reach 381 billion euros in 2025, up about 11 percent from 2024. For many European countries, however, soaring defense budgets amid high inflation, low growth and widening deficits pose a heavy economic burden, potentially crowding out social spending and triggering political and social tensions. The Economist has forecast that European defense spending will hit a post-Cold War high in 2026, yet cautioned that, under mounting economic pressure, Europe still has a long road ahead before achieving genuine strategic autonomy.