Polish Presidency of the EU. Von der Leyen in Greenland, when “Tusk's nativity scene” is in Warsaw? We explain

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, will not come to Gdańsk for the external meeting of the European Commission related to the inauguration of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council – said Stefan de Keersmaecker, EC spokesman, on January 3, 2025. The reason is an illness: severe pneumonia. Therefore, the external meeting of the Commission in Poland, scheduled for January 9 and 10 in Gdańsk, will be held at a different date. However, on January 6 another spokeswoman for the European Commission – Paula Pinho – she informedthat von der Leyen, despite her illness, works remotely and there is no need to appoint her replacement.

On January 1, Poland formally took over the presidency of the EU Council. Presidency inauguration ceremony took place on January 3 at the Grand Theater – National Opera in Warsaw, that is, on the same day when the EC office announced von der Leyen's illness. The gala was attended by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa. Von der Leyen's participation in the event was not planned.

Meanwhile, a message quickly spread on social media that the illness was just an excuse for von der Leyen not to come to Poland for the inauguration ceremony. According to the narrative spread in recent days – on social media, but also on television supporting the opposition – the head of the European Commission flew to Greenland at the beginning of January.

One of the pieces of evidence is a short recording published on January 4 on website X by one of the English-speaking users. “New: Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede calls for independence from Denmark as Donald Trump steps up his calls to take over the territory. 'It's time to take the next step for our country,' Egede said.” we read at the beginning of the post. Its content focuses on Greenland and does not mention von der Leyen. It was accompanied by a fragment of the recording of the joint press conference of von der Leyen, the Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute Egede, and the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen (Greenland is an autonomous dependent territory of Denmark). In the recording, we hear the head of the Greenland government saying in English: “Here in Greenland, we need growth. We need economic growth and the diversification of our economy. Of course, we first welcome our strong partners in like-minded countries. But if they do not invest, it is many companies that would also like to invest in our country.

The entry attracted the attention of many Polish Internet users. “She recovered! ;))))” – he stated one of them on January 4, sharing an English-language post with a recording. His entry has been viewed over 24,000 times. times. Similarly they wrote others users service X: “The President of the EC healed and healed in Greenland. Miracles”; “Greenland more important than Poland and Donald – master level humiliation”; “Who invented this acute pneumonia? You are left with this nonsense, like Himilsbach with English. Did you seriously think that it wouldn't work these days, that it was a lie?”; “It seems that @vonderleyen's illness was a fiction. The kings did not want to take part in #Tusk's nativity scene. Even those who imprisoned him in Warsaw” (original spelling of all entries).

Some Internet users shared a screenshot of a fragment of the article in their posts as proof that Ursula von der Leyen actually visited Greenland in early January 2025. The English-language title reads: “Greenland's Prime Minister Calls for Declaration of Independence from Denmark: 'It's Time to Take the Next Step'.” Below you can see a photo in which Ursula von der Leyen is standing behind the Prime Minister of Greenland, on the right.

Below the photo is its publication date: January 3, 2025. This date is circled in red and visible in von der Leyen's photo.

“After all, what's the point!? Some people write that Ms. Ursula von der Leyen is sick and that's why she won't come to Poland. And what about her? Unless she's undergoing treatment for pneumonia in Greenland,” commented one of the Internet users. “Hey, redhead, pneumonia is best treated in Greenland,” said an anonymous Internet user who also shared this screenshot. “Diplomatic disease is what it used to be called. But no one expected people to run away from the King of Europe”; “Miracle, Mr. Miracle”; “She quickly got over pneumonia”; “This is Mrs. Urszula's avatar”; “Urszula didn't want Donald…” – other Internet users commented.

Some, however, noted: “But this is probably not a current photo. There was probably no meeting there at the time”; “Someone here has already proven that this is a video from last year.”

The recording of the press conference with Ursula von der Leyen, Mute Egede and Mette Frederiksen is indeed old – this meeting took place March 15, 2024. Wedy, the head of the European Commission visited Greenland to inaugurate the activities of the EU Office in Nuuk, the capital of this territory. A video of the press statement issued by von der Leyen during the press conference on March 15, 2024 is available at website of the European Commission. The decor of the room and the politicians' outfits match.

However, the screenshot shared by Internet users is a fragment Breitbart articlewhich is known for publishing fake news. The text titled “Prime Minister of Greenland calls for declaration of independence from Denmark: 'It's time to take the next step'” was published on January 3, 2025. It reported Egede's dissatisfaction with Greenland's current relations with Denmark and his expectation that the country would proclaim independence. Egede also informs that a draft constitution for Greenland has been prepared.

Except that the current affairs article on Breitbart was illustrated with an old photo from Ursula von der Leyen's visit to the island. This photograph is available in the database GettyImages with the description: “Prime Minister of Greenland Mute B Egede, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen tour the city during a meeting to mark the opening of the new European Commission office in Nuuk, Greenland, on March 15, 2024.” The author of the photo is Greenlandic photographer Leiff Josefsen.

Greenland was in the news at the end of the year because Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States, he wrote on his social media sitethat “for purposes of national security and freedom everywhere, the United States of America considers the possession and control of Greenland to be an absolute necessity.” Trump thus returned to an issue raised during his first term in the White House, when he tried to buy Greenland. In response to Trump's Mute Egede post declared: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and never will be. We cannot lose our long fight for freedom.”

How reported by Greenlandic and Danish mediaOn January 7, 2025, Donald Trump Junior, the son of the future president of the United States, announced his visit to the island.