Denmark and other European Union states are deploying additional troops to Greenland, world leaders are exchanging messages of concern with US President Donald Trump, Canada moves to expand its trade relations with China, and tariff warfare is being explored by both sides of the Atlantic. As the US threatens to annex Greenland, potentially putting major NATO allies against each other, the political commotion is real. The US’ imperial ambitions, combined with Greenland’s rich mineral and freshwater resources, are an understandable concern for EU leaders.

Examining the EU’s stance on recent violations of international law by the US and Israel, and expanding our analysis to include how the EU has responded to US military aggression in other regions, it is hard not to see the hypocrisy in urging the US to adhere to international law now. Let’s look at that hypocrisy up close.

When it comes to speaking out against aggression by the US and Israel, a state that bombed six countries and attacked three more in their territorial waters just in 2025, the EU’s record shows a grim example of moral gymnastics.

For example, the EU has not released an official statement condemning Israeli aggression against Yemen. Yet it had no problems accusing Yemen of what it called “indiscriminate attacks against international maritime shipping in the Red Sea, and against Israel.” When Israel bombed Iran in June 2025, which, in turn, sent rockets to Israel, the EU did not express a condemnation but its “deepest concern”:

Notice how it is the security of Israel—the party that initiated military aggression in this case—that the EU chooses to mention, and not the country whose territorial integrity was infringed upon first.

What is more revealing than the refusal to express any written condemnation is the fact that the EU’s statements to this day have not been accompanied by any concrete punitive action toward Israel. There are no significant sanctions in place, and the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a framework that guides their bilateral trade, has been proposed but not officially discussed, and is currently being pushed by a citizens’ initiative. What the EU has granted Israel for violating international law grossly and continuously has been only complete impunity. Let’s not forget that not even the July 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice declaring Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories unlawful and demanding it withdraw from the territories and provide reparations was a factor for the EU to hold Israel accountable to follow through in any way.

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