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Welcome to the weekend issue of Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Join us on Saturdays for deeper dives from our bureaus across Europe.

NUUK — Greenlanders want independence. But more than anything else, they want to control their own future.

That much became clear during election week on the snow-covered streets of Nuuk, the capital of the vast island territory that’s been thrust into the global security debate by President Donald Trump’s increasingly bellicose claims over it. 

Voters outside a polling station in Nuuk, on March 11. Photographer: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

As voters were plied with music and cake by political parties in the Greenlandic capital, the latest all-caps-laced social-media overture by Trump – who reinforced his aim to make the Danish territory part of the US – likely helped boost turnout.

But far from embracing Trump’s expansionism, Greenlanders overwhelmingly opted for stability. Three in four voters backed parties proposing a gradual pathway to sovereignty rather than a swift break from Denmark.

“Many people are afraid of independence because of what the American president has said,” a 35-year-old Nuuk resident working in IT told us. “People want stability rather than rushing into independence,” he said, declining to give his name talking politics in the tight-knit community. 

The comments illustrate a mood of unease, even fear, in the territory of 57,000. That was belied this week in Nuuk, the capital city perched on the edge of a fjord, where political contenders handed out branded merchandise from stalls under the bright Arctic sun.

Greenland’s unexpected election winner, Demokraatit, wants to focus on building a sustainable economy before pursuing full independence from Denmark. The self-ruling territory currently relies on fishing and limited mining — and with a new international airport having opened recently in Nuuk, seeks to boost income from tourism.

Financial backing from Denmark pays about a third of the public budget – and Greenlanders are conscious that they need new sources of income before they can break free.

Still, the question of independence remains divisive. Nearly a quarter of voters backed the party pushing for a hard break from Copenhagen, driven by historical grievances and ongoing tensions. Many Greenlanders still remember injustices of the past, including forced birth control on teenage girls in the 1960s and 1970s. Lingering racial discrimination has only deepened calls for sovereignty. 

Voters queue to cast their ballots in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 11. Photographer: Odd Andersen/Getty Images

So it’s ironic that Trump’s claims over the territory between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans have effectively strengthened the island’s ties with Denmark. His remarks have forced Danish authorities to take its former colony seriously, opening the door for the incoming government in Nuuk to push for greater autonomy and influence within the kingdom.

It almost certainly contributed to the much higher turnout compared with four years ago.

“It should be a given to vote,” Niels Kronholm, a 48-year-old public sector worker from Nuuk, told us. “But Trump has actually gotten people off the couch this time.” 

Sanne Wass, Denmark reporter

Weekend Reads

Germany Gets Ready to Lead Europe, If Merz Can Pull It Off

With Europe experiencing its most devastating war since 1945 and Donald Trump ripping up the transatlantic alliance, Germany is preparing to abandon decades of caution and step into the breach. Election-winner Friedrich Merz’s plans for hundreds of billions of euros in spending have piled expectations on his chancellorship before it’s even begun. 

Estonian Startups See Opportunity in Europe’s Rush to Rearm

Until last summer, Kusti Salm was the top-ranked civil servant in Estonia’s Ministry of Defense, warning that Europe was woefully unprepared for a Russian assault. Now, he’s taking a more hands-on approach to arming Europe, helping to launch a missile startup to use off-the-shelf sensor technology designed for smartphones to build an air-defense platform for a fraction of the cost of existing systems.

Investors Learn Brutal Lesson From Sweden’s Wind Farm Woes

Ground preparation at the Markbygden Ett wind park project near Pitea, Sweden, in 2019. Photographer: Mikael Sjoberg/Bloomberg

Located on a blustery plateau just south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, Markbygden Ett became the crown jewel of Europe’s largest onshore wind development when it went online late last decade. Despite a long-term contract assumed to be safe, it became an expensive lesson in the dangers of making deals based on the predictability of energy prices — or the weather itself. 

Italy’s Bond Angst Shapes Meloni Strategy From Defense to Banks

For Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the debt crisis that caused Silvio Berlusconi’s downfall remains such an unnerving memory that it keeps driving her decision-making. From boosting defense spending to fretting over insurer Generali and trying to direct banking consolidation, the premier’s approach is shaped by the still-vivid trauma of seeing her political mentor felled.

Tank Builder’s Stock Hotter Than LVMH in New European Order

A rush by European governments to boost military spending has unleashed a rally in defense stocks so strong that they’re now as richly valued as the region’s high-flying luxury names. Shares in German tanks and ammunition producer Rheinmetall have jumped more than 90% this year. That’s pushed its valuation multiple to a record, somewhere between Dior owner LVMH and Birkin bag maker Hermès. 

This Week in Europe

  • Monday: EU foreign affairs and energy ministers meet in Brussels; EU hosts donors conference for Syrian reconstruction in Brussels
  • Monday-Tuesday: EU transport ministers hold informal meeting in Warsaw
  • Tuesday: General Affairs Council in Brussels
  • Thursday-Friday: EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss defense spending, Ukraine and competitiveness

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