this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2025
261 points (95.8% liked)

Europe

2100 readers
897 users here now

News and information from Europe πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

  1. This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
  2. No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
  3. Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
  4. No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism.
  5. Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
  6. If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
  7. Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in [email protected]. (They're cool, you should subscribe there too!)
  8. Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
  9. No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)

(This list may get expanded when necessary.)

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the mods: @[email protected], @[email protected], or @[email protected].

founded 7 months ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 147 points 1 week ago (2 children)

...Trump took the unprecedented step of refusing to rule out military action to take territory from a Nato ally...

what. the. fuck.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 week ago (3 children)

i'm guessing that ~~he~~putin thinks that doing so would be enough to break apart the alliance or get the u.s. kicked out.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 week ago (2 children)

That would definitely do it. With the way Trump is talking Denmark might end up being forced to expel the US military from Thule to avoid a Chrimea scenario.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

"Heputin" is how I'll be saving space and time moving forward.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (4 children)

What even happens if one NATO member attacks another? Does the aggressor immediately get their membership nullified and the rest must come together and declare war on them?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

NATO immediately loses all credibility. Otherwise, nothing much.

NATO was founded as a defensive pact against the Soviet Union.
The only time it was ever used was as a tool by the US to force other countries to join the war in Afghanistan.
Article 5 isn't an automatism that forces all members to start an all-out war. They're still sovereign.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 87 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I hope NATO responds… but is this partially an effort to weaken and distract NATO so it’s easier for Putin to have his way with Europe?

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 week ago

Very likely to be.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 63 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

The US congress must approve a declaration of war. Here is to hoping that there are enough sane senators left. Nobody wants this war, but if Europe doesn't stand up to bullies, we're doomed to be taken advantage of further. This is a challenge that will define a generation of European leadership.

I also find it delightfully ironic that the US now risks invading Denmark and it's up to the rest of EU to stand up against it when Denmark spied for the US on the rest of the EU between 2012 and 2014 and were caught red handed.

Just goes to show the old lesson of what the US does to its allies once they're no longer useful.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The Iraq War proved that Congress doesn't have the balls to insist on that point of order.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago

And Korea, and Vietnam, and...

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I don't think it'll start with a formal declaration. He won't get that.

I think he'll order the military to stop paying for the US military base in Greenland without leaving, then have them expand operations outside of the agreement to provoke a response.

This will of course make every other country far less likely to renew or grant leases for US military bases and reduce US global military hegemony. But nobody driving this is thinking that far ahead.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago (4 children)

We haven't declared war since WW2. The President can launch an attack without needing Congress backing for ~90 days if I remember correctly. I'm hoping he isn't dumb enough to do so, but he may get drunk one night and set it off while bitching on truth social at 1 in the morning and make a drunken phone call because he's not mentally stable.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago

And you know he’s escalating because his narcissistic personality hates being told no, especially on such a public stage.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I wonder what the real problem play is here.

  • Distraction to soak up outrage and attention?
  • Actual desire to take Greenland because they global warming will unveil riches beneath the ice?
  • Naively thinking NATO will abandon the USA as quickly as Trump would abandon NATO?
  • Thinking they can divert NATO defenses to Greenland instead of Ukraine?

No scenario seems like a smart play but that’s MAGA for you.

[–] [email protected] 61 points 1 week ago (2 children)
  • Dementia-addled brain latches onto a stupid obsession for random reasons and everyone ends up trying to figure out what 4-D chess move is really behind it.

It's still a problem the world needs to deal with, but I don't think it's as deep as everyone thinks.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago

I agree. He just wants to have it because he floated the idea once and people disagreed with him. The dangerous part is when it eventually becomes an embarrassment to him because Denmark and the EU won't budge.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

...just give him a sharpie and let him doodle on a big wall map; problem solved...

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 week ago

I think that invading greenland is an effective way to destroy nato. Russia and China would be pleased.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago

Its a smart play for china.

China will be happy to pump this with trump.

Trump will happily be told by china he can have it if they can have Taiwan. He won't care about the second part, just hearing he is ok to proceed will send him signing orders

Then Europe/NATO will object complain, block fight etc.

Suddenly dollar isn't the Petro dollar anymore because of their stability issues. China will step up and trumpet themselves as the stable one so use them.

Once Petro dollar isn't USA anymore all hell breaks lose economy wise.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Greenland joins US. Existing Greenland people not born in US. Deported coz not a citizen.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

Wow. You are so right.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

Why do we want Greenland anyway? It's the icy one, right?

No but serious question. What value does it have?

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Mineral and oil extraction made easier by global warming. But the real prize is open shipping lanes over the Arctic.

Here's a great break down of the economics:

https://www.removepaywall.com/search?url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/23/the-arctic-climate-changes-great-economic-opportunity

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago

Well that's nice and all, but IMO the real reason is Trump got laughed at last term when he suggested buying Greenland, and now he has to buy it to show how good of an idea it was and that he totally wasn't upset by the mocking. Like when you tell a toddler not to do something and they immediately start doing it more.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago

Well damn this is depressing. Leave it to humans to capitalize on a dying earth.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It looks big on the map, trump thinks he's about to gain 50% more land for america

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Resources, north sea access, missile defense.

It's dumb but with climate change it's valuable territory, geopolitically.

The stupidity is we already have all the military stuff we need there, and long standing agreements.

It's also Denmark's so we should fuck off.

In addition to it not being for sale, Annexation is bullshit because it doesn't provide proper representation to those that live there. The whole country was formed with ideas of representation and taxation in mind (albeit quite imperfectly). Anywhere the US flag flies, those under it should get full rights and powers as a citizen.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago (8 children)

Why does everyone keep taking Trump at face value? His security concerns are a cover for the resources American companies want to extract from Greenland.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago (2 children)

The ones Greenland offered to negotiate a deal for?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Don't need a deal if you just steal it.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

Yeah. This is 1800's banana company level stuff.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

Moreover, it is possible that this is one of his hander's favourite strategies. He's making a lot of smoke about the whole Greenland thing, so he is trying to bury something bad in the news. Potentially how staple item prices are going to skyrocket in the US when your oil, lumber and more than half of your raw minerals cost 25% more.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

No one dares to say something.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago

The handlers will just let Donny play in a protected playpen and scream and shout all he wants and they'll throw in a stuffed toy or a plastic toy he can easily break and get his frustrations out.

The problems will start when little Donny will start to get out of control and start pushing buttons he isn't supposed to have access to.

Hopefully, the Nuclear Football is baby proofed enough to keep us all alive.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago (2 children)

He has his loyalists in power. No one to say no to him and that will follow his orders.

He cycled through a lot of staff last time round

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago

A "world leader", ladies and gentlemen.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 week ago (3 children)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is an example of flooding the zone with shit do we talk about this and not the confirmations or the ICE raids.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago

taking greenland will just a easy simple step in making a list of names of all the people who would stand up/protest, before he starts all the actual wars in the middle east

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

this idiot knows the British and french have nukes, right?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

Time to go see if China are interested in building some military bases on Greenland. Same thing for Panama for that matter. Maybe Canada wants some help as well?

load more comments
view more: next β€Ί