Work is underway on a package to support Arctic security, says Von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the bloc's executive arm is working on a package to support Arctic security.

She warned that US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Greenland are a mistake.

"Arctic security can only be achieved together, and that is why the proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially among early allies," Von der Leyen said in a speech at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

"The European Union and the United States agreed to a trade deal last July, and in politics as in business - a deal is a deal," she said, Reuters reports, Klankosova.tv reports.

"Our plunge into a downward spiral would only help the adversaries we are both so committed to keeping off the strategic landscape, so our response will be steadfast, united, and proportionate."

Trump has intensified his attempt to seize sovereignty over Greenland from NATO member Denmark, prompting the European Union to weigh countermeasures of its own.

Von der Leyen said that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland is non-negotiable and that work is being done to increase security in the far north.

"We are working on a package to support security in the Arctic," she said.

The EU is also working on a "massive increase in European investment in Greenland," she said, to support the local economy and infrastructure.

The Commission President also said the EU would work with the US and other partners on broader security in the Arctic, adding that the planned increase in defence spending could be used for a "European icebreaking capability and other vital equipment for security in the Arctic".