Greenland鈥檚 legislature debated Tuesday whether to prohibit political parties from receiving contributions 鈥渇rom foreign or anonymous contributors鈥� after President Donald Trump laid out ambitions for the United States to take over the vast island that belongs to Denmark.
Inatsisartut, Greenland鈥檚 parliament, discussed the proposal that would also ban any single party from receiving domestic private contributions that exceed 200,000 Danish kroner (about $27,700) in total, or 20,000 kroner (about $2,770) for a single contributor.
The government of Greenland asked the parliament鈥檚 five-member presidency to consider a bill aimed to 鈥減rotect Greenland鈥檚 political integrity鈥� that would take effect immediately.
The bill 鈥渕ust be seen in light of the geopolitical interests in Greenland and the current situation where representatives of an allied great power have expressed interest in taking over and controlling Greenland,鈥� according to a translation of a parliamentary document in Danish outlining the measure.
The move comes ahead of parliamentary elections that must be held no later than April in Greenland.
Kent Fridberg, a senior legal officer at parliament, said he did not know whether any such foreign donors had already contributed to Greenland鈥檚 political parties and the idea for the bill was 鈥渂asically a preventative measure.鈥�
Speaking by phone to The Associated Press, Fridberg noted Trump鈥檚 expressed interest in Greenland 鈥� and said some Russian politicians had voiced a similar interest 鈥� and that parties on the island are generally funded by public means.
Before taking office for his second term on Jan. 20, Trump said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security.
The U.S. president reiterated his ambitions on the issue in comments to reporters last week. His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., visited the mineral-rich territory that鈥檚 home to a large U.S. military base early last month and told citizens: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to treat you well.鈥�
