Greenland delays law to vet foreign investment in strategic sectors

Greenland’s planned investor screening law — designed to give the government power to block foreign investments deemed a threat to national security — has been withdrawn from the spring session of Inatsisartut, the country’s parliament, according to reporting by Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq. The delay means Nuuk still has no general legal framework to vet foreign capital flowing into sensitive sectors of the Arctic territory, at a time when great-power interest in Greenland’s resources and strategic position has rarely been higher.

The bill had already cleared its first reading on 11 November and been referred to the parliament’s Business and Mineral Resources Committee. The bill had been slated for a second reading this spring, but Sermitsiaq reports it was pulled at the request of the incoming minister and her department, who want to refine the proposal before bringing it back to lawmakers. The law is now expected to be finalised at the autumn 2026 session.

The legislative gap is significant. Greenland currently has no general statute, and no sector-specific rules either, that would allow authorities to screen incoming foreign investment on national security or public order grounds, let alone block, reject, or unwind such deals. The draft law, which was in public consultation from 15 September to 13 October, would apply to all foreign investors, both individuals and companies and identifies a broad set of sensitive areas: defence-related firms, IT security and classified-information handlers, producers of dual-use goods and critical technology, critical infrastructure, hydropower plants, the mineral resources sector and companies owned by the Greenlandic government.