NATO officials have begun restricting intelligence exchanges with the United States for the first time in the alliance's 76-year history, according to multiple European security sources, as President Donald Trump's threats to seize Greenland fracture transatlantic trust.
The extraordinary move represents what security analysts describe as the most serious deterioration in relations between Washington and its European allies since the 1956 Suez Crisis. Intelligence officials from Britain, France, and Germany are "no longer communicating openly" with their American counterparts, according to a senior NATO insider who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The compartmentalization began after Trump publicly stated his intention to acquire Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory, for $700 billion and threatened punitive tariffs against eight NATO allies who opposed the plan. The administration announced a 10 percent tariff on European nations to take effect February 1, escalating to 25 percent by June 1 if resistance continues.
"There is genuine concern that sensitive intelligence could be weaponized to support annexation plans," the NATO source told reporters. "This creates unprecedented tension and mistrust between European and American colleagues."
The intelligence-sharing framework dates to the 1941 Sinkov Mission, when American cryptographers traveled to Britain during World War II to establish what would become the "Five Eyes" alliance with Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. A British intelligence official indicated that London is now viewed within the alliance "as part of Europe" rather than maintaining its traditional privileged position as Washington's closest intelligence partner.
American military personnel stationed at NATO headquarters in Brussels have found themselves in the awkward position of apologizing for U.S. policy to their European counterparts, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
In a parallel development, Britain, France, and Germany have deployed military delegations to Greenland to strengthen their presence as a signal to Washington. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot described the American approach as "incomprehensible and unnecessarily hostile," calling territorial seizure "a red line for European countries."
The European Union has scheduled an extraordinary summit in Brussels to coordinate a unified response, with debate centering on whether to activate the bloc's "anti-coercion instrument"—a trade retaliation mechanism designed to counter economic blackmail.
Prévot acknowledged legitimate U.S. security concerns about Arctic activity but argued that existing agreements already permit expanded military cooperation without requiring annexation. "Threatening NATO allies through tariffs is totally unacceptable," he said in remarks to journalists.
To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. The current crisis traces to decades of American unilateralism that European leaders tolerated when it served mutual interests. Trump's willingness to threaten military allies over territorial ambitions, however, represents a categorical break from postwar norms—one that may permanently alter the intelligence architecture that has underpinned Western security since 1945.
