Yesterday there was still talk that the German soldiers would stay longer than planned in Greenland, but something else happened - a secret departure of the Bundeswehr group, without warning, announcement or otherwise, the newspaper "Bild" reported. The newspaper noted that the mission's spokesperson on the ground did not respond to a request for comment and calls, and that there was also no reaction from the German government, BTA writes.
A little later, however, the news was confirmed to DPA by a Bundeswehr spokesperson, who stated that the German military intelligence team of 15 soldiers, recently sent to Greenland, is leaving the Arctic island today and will travel to Copenhagen.
According to information from "Bild", the order to withdraw was given early this morning from Berlin, without explaining to the soldiers the reason. All planned tasks had to be hastily canceled.
The group commander, Admiral Stefan Pauli, explained yesterday that the possibilities for further cooperation on the ground were discussed with the Danes and others, they reported this to Berlin and were waiting for a response on what would be approved in order to discuss the next steps with the Danes.
But apparently that did not happen: at 8:30 this morning local time, the soldiers were already at the airport with their luggage.
It remains unclear whether Germany is withdrawing its soldiers under the influence of punitive tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump against opponents of his aggressive policy towards Greenland or whether there are other reasons for their withdrawal, writes "Bild".
The fifteen soldiers from the army, air force and navy arrived in Greenland on Friday as part of a reconnaissance mission by the countries of NATO at the invitation of Denmark. The purpose was an exercise, as well as exploring other options for exercises and troop deployments.
The mission began after a meeting between the foreign ministers of Denmark, Greenland and the United States in Washington on Wednesday failed, notes "Bild".
Germany and its European partners will not succumb to the "blackmail" of Donald Trump, German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said today. His statement was in response to the US president's threat yesterday to impose additional tariffs on imports from eight European countries, including Germany, that do not support his plan to acquire Greenland, Reuters reported.
Germany will always reach out to the US to find common solutions, but Berlin cannot agree with Washington on this issue, Klingbeil said in a statement.
“So the very clear signal is: we will not succumb to blackmail and there will be a European response,“ he added.
Meanwhile, the German Mechanical Engineering Association (VDMA) has expressed a strong position against US President Donald Trump's plans to use tariffs to pressure Denmark to sell control of Greenland to the US, calling on Europe not to give in to his demands.
“If the EU backs down here, it will only encourage the US president to make the next absurd demand and threatened with new tariffs“, Bertram Kavlat, president of the association, said today.
“Highly controversial political goals are being linked to economic sanctions in an unacceptable way“, said Volker Treier, foreign trade specialist at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).
Both German business representatives called for a unified response from the European Union.
Such European measures could include the EU's Instrument against Economic Coercion (ACI), which allows the bloc to retaliate against third countries that put economic pressure on EU member states to change their policies and offers a wide range of measures. It allows the EU to restrict access to public procurement tenders for companies from third countries and take action affecting trade in services or investment, Reuters reported.