New polling suggests the majority of Greenlanders would vote to rejoin the European Union if the country held a referendum tomorrow.
A survey conducted by Nasiffik – the Center for Foreign and Security Policy at Ilisimatusarfik University – revealed 60 per cent said they would vote to re-enter the EU if it went to a ballot.
It comes exactly forty years after Greenland withdrew from being part of the European Communities (EC) in 1985, three years after 53 per cent of the electorate voted out.
Rasmus Leander Nielsen, an associate professor at Ilisimatusarfik, has suggested that the result shows people in the country are increasingly warming to the idea of being back in the EU.
“The EU does a lot for the national treasury, supports the school system and green energy,” he said, adding that the EU is the second largest contributor to the economy, contributing over 250 million kroner.
What’s more, there are already several economic cooperation agreements in place between the EU and Greenland, with particular focus on fisheries and education.
It also comes after president-elect Donald Trump repeated an idea of acquiring the strategically important and mineral-rich Arctic island which he said was an “absolute necessity”.
Responding to the suggestions, Greenland’s PM Múte Bourup Egede said: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”
Related: Angela Eagle shows how you deal with right-wing conspiracy theories