Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen calls March election amid ‘Greenland bounce’ in polls – Europe live | Europe

Back to Geneva, the US-Ukraine talks are now under way, we are told.

“A bilateral meeting with the American delegation has begun – with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov said on social media, adding: “We will thoroughly work through the prosperity package.”

Here’s more on the context of the talks (11:20).

Staying with the Nordic theme, we also have a bit more detail on that warning about the energy infrastructure in Sweden (12:03).

The country’s signal intelligence agency FRA said in a statement quoted by local media that it was a routine move to ask the sector to stay vigilant following last December’s cyber-attack on the Polish energy sector targeting wind and solar farms, which was attributed to Russia (Europe Live reference).

In contrast to original media reporting, it said there was “no specific threat” behind the notice.

Deputy prime minister Ebba Busch said on X that “the energy sector has long been identified as a target for threats and attacks,” but there was “currently no new, specific threat against the Swedish energy system.”

In other news, Norway’s King Harald, 89, who fell ill while on holiday in Spain, will be discharged from hospital on Thursday, the royal palace said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

Europe’s oldest head of state was taken to hospital on Tuesday on the Spanish island of Tenerife, where he was on a private holiday, suffering from a skin infection on his leg as well as dehydration.

King Harald and his wife, Queen Sonja, will continue their private stay in Tenerife, and no decision has yet been made on when they will return home, the palace said.

‘Strange’ government runs out of track as Frederiksen hopes for new mandate for third term – snap analysis

Jakub Krupa

It’s worth remembering that the now-caretaker Danish government, formed in 2022, is a fairly unusual cross-partisan coalition of three parties across the political divide – two on centre-right, and one on centre-left – which often see things differently; for example, on the issue of wealth tax.

Frederiksen herself called it a “strange” government.

The election could see a new, more aligned, coalition emerge at the end of the process.

For her part, Frederiksen signalled she would be prepared to again work in the centre of the political spectrum or get closer to partners on the left as she hopes to secure a third term as the PM. “I am not ruling anything out in advance,” she said.

But, as DR notes, this is likely to be a strange and possibly divisive campaign, now pitting recent allies against each other.

And it’s not just Frederiksen who enjoyed good momentum in recent months as the Moderates party of the foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, has gone up from 3% to 8% in the latest figures.

Defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen, of the Venstre party, is tipped as another potential prime ministerial candidate.

Let’s see how the campaign unfolds. We will follow it closely.

Frederiksen’s moves to capitalise on recent poll gains after rallying allies in defence of Greenland – snap analysis

Jakub Krupa

Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats are currently polling at 22-23%, a notable climb from 18% in December.

This surge follows her administration’s defiant stance against Donald Trump’s push to control Greenland.

By successfully rallying European allies behind Copenhagen and Nuuk – even despite threats of retaliatory tariffs from the US – Frederiksen appears to have solidified her domestic standing.

With an election deadline looming later this year, calling a vote now could allow her to capitalise on this momentum – particularly if, as Miranda said (12:58), Frederiksen wants the issue of European and Danish unity to play a big part in her campaign.

A YouGov poll found a big jump in her personal approval ratings in January, gaining 10pp compared to December, which the company said had to do with “a rally-around-the-flag effect, given the recent Greenland crisis.”

Still, her net result remained marginally negative, meaning more people had a negative view of her.

There will be a number of tricky issues that are likely to heavily future in the campaign, too – and Frederiksen had faced some criticism over her domestic record in recent months.

Denmark’s Berlingske newspaper said it expected lots of attention to be given to the issues of inequality and wealth – as already indicated by Frederiksen’s words on wealth tax – but also retirement, immigration, housing policy, and regulatory red tape.

Finally, there is the issue of Greenland.

Could Donald Trump possibly dare to seek to intervene in the (very short) campaign?

Frederiksen’s request for elections accepted by Danish King

Miranda Bryant

Nordic correspondent

The prime minister’s office said in a statement:

“Following the Prime Minister’s recommendation, which has been accepted by His Majesty the King, it has been decided by open letter that, in order to give the voters of Folketinget the opportunity to take a position on important political issues, new elections to Folketinget will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.”

Denmark’s Frederiksen calls election amid ‘Greenland bounce’ in polls – snap analysis

Miranda Bryant

Nordic correspondent

Mette Frederiksen announces general election on 24 March proposing wealth tax to fund schools, promising to secure the future of the commonwealth and pledging to hold Europe together.

It will be a crucial election, she says, adding that Denmark and Europe must stand in their own right and that Denmark’s commonwealth must be secured.

Her decision to call the election now comes as the prime minister is said to be enjoying a “Greenland bounce” in the polls – after poor performance in local elections in which her party lost control of Copenhagen for the first time in decades – in response to her handling of the US crisis after Donald Trump’s repeated threats to invade Greenland.

And here we go: Mette Frederiksen says the Danes will go to the polls on 24 March.

Jakub Krupa

Are we going to get a specific commitment from Frederiksen on the date, or it is just general election talk since we know it has to happen this year?

Stay with us – we’ll bring you the latest here.

Danes ‘will soon be going to polls,’ PM Frederiksen says

Miranda Bryant

Nordic correspondent

Frederiksen is speaking now.

“Winter has finally let go, and the days are getting longer and brighter. It will soon be spring – and the Danes will soon be going to the polls,” she tells the Danish parliament in a special statement.

Denmark’s Frederiksen requests ‘statement of special nature’ in parliament amid election speculation

Miranda Bryant

Nordic correspondent

Back in Copenhagen, in the strongest election hint yet, Mette Frederiksen has just shared a picture on social media of the note that she just passed to the speaker of the Danish parliament requesting the floor for “a statement of a special nature.”

Let’s see what comes out of that.

Separately, Belgium said it was preparing to deploy an air-defence system at the port of Antwerp to counter the growing drone threat to critical infrastructure, Reuters reported.

The moves comes after Belgium last year faced a series of drone incursions that forced temporary shutdowns at Belgian airports and a military airbase.

Multiple drone sightings were also reported over the port of Antwerp – including above nuclear power plants, the BASF chemical complex and the Europa container terminal – raising alarm over the vulnerability of key industrial and energy sites.

The spokesperson declined to provide specific details on the plans – first reported by Belgian media – citing operational security reasons but added that the system will be ordered soon.

Meanwhile, the Nordic countries are on high alert amid concerns about a potential strike against their energy infrastructure, Sweden’s TV4 reported.

The broadcaster claimed that “an actor, believed to be linked to a foreign power, has threatened the energy network throughout the Nordic region, including Sweden.”

In response, a number of authorities and police units have been put on high alert and ordered to closely monitor the critical infrastructure, TV4 said.

It claimed that the potential incident could take place in “near future.”

The report was widely picked up by other Swedish media outlets.

The Guardian has not been able independently verify the report. We have approached Sweden’s signal intelligence agency for comment.

Meanwhile, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán has urged the European Union to form a “fact-finding mission” to inspect the Druzhba pipeline amid escalating tension with Ukraine.

In a letter to European Council president António Costa, Orbán insisted that his initiative seeks to “facilitate the timely resolution of this issue,” which held up the payment of the EU’s €90bn loan to Ukraine and the adoption of the 20th package of sanctions against Russia (9:47).

He asked that the mission included experts from Hungary and Slovakia, which also continues to be affected by the disrupted oil transit via the pipeline.

He assured Costa that Hungary would accept the findings of such mission, whatever they will be.

Keeping close eye on Denmark amid election speculation

Miranda Bryant

Nordic correspondent

We are keeping a close eye on developments in Copenhagen today amid speculation that today could potentially be the day that Mette Frederiksen calls a general election.

Today was already a date that had been tipped as a potential one for the election to be called – it must be held by 31 October this year at the latest – but when the Danish prime minister arrived at Folketinget, the Danish parliament, a little while ago, it prompted much excitement among politicians and journalists.

On her way, she posted on Instagram that she was on her way to vote for food support legislation “amongst other things” and entered Folketingshallen smiling with a red folder under her arm.

Since then, she has been doing a lot of embracing of colleagues around the chamber

Social Democrat Yildiz Akdogan has just shared a picture of the PM on X with the question: “Is the election coming?”

Meanwhile, back in Geneva, the US and Ukrainian negotiators are expected to hold talks which will focus on postwar reconstruction as part of a broader push to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The discussions, revolving around the so-called “prosperity package” for Ukraine, were expected to begin around lunchtime.

This stream of talks is separate from the trilateral negotiations that involve Russia and seek to find a way forward to end the conflict.

The US delegation is also separately holding Iran talks, also in Geneva.

Defending Nato’s eastern flank in case of a potential Russian aggression would cost at least €1.2tn ($1.42 trillion), Polish foreign minister Rados?aw Sikorski said in a speech to parliament, Reuters reported.

“Defending the countries of Nato’s eastern flank in the event of a potential Russian aggression would cost at least twelve hundred billion euros – twenty-four times more than the Polish defence budget,” he warned.

He compared that to just under €200bn that the EU and its member states have paid to Ukraine since 2022.

“A free Ukraine, as part of the West, is our chance to render Russian imperialism toothless,” he said.

He added:

“Despite what its propaganda claims, Russia is by no means winning. Don’t fall for it. Russia is not, and never has been, invincible.”

Sikorski also paid tribute to the economic contribution of Ukrainian migrants and refugees resident in Poland, adding PLN 100bn (€24bn) to Poland’s GDP, the equivalent of half of the annual budget of Poland’s healthcare system.

Morning opening

Jakub Krupa

US and Ukrainian negotiators meet in Geneva, Switzerland for further talks about ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine amid continuing attacks on Ukrainian cities.

At least 23 people were injured in overnight strikes, with 420 drones and 39 missiles used by Russia to target Ukraine in the latest round of attacks.

“When the whole world demands Moscow to finally stop this senseless war, Putin bets on more terror, attacks, and aggression,” Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.

Meanwhile, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán appears to be escalating his rhetoric against Ukraine even further, making unsubstantiated allegations that the wartorn country could be planning to disrupt Hungarian energy system.

This morning he posted an “open letter” to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alleging that for years he “had been working to force Hungary into the war between your country and Russia,” with alleged support from Brussels and the Hungarian opposition forces.

In a separate clip from a radio interview, Orbán said he had always expected Ukraine to engage in “dirty tricks” alleging a conspiracy to “create chaos and supply insecurity” in Hungary’s energy sector.

Kyiv continues to strongly deny all of Orbán’s allegations and says the disruption to oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline is solely related to damage from Russian strikes.

The Hungarian prime minister’s language appears to be increasingly toughening as we get closer to the 12 April parliamentary election, which could see him ousted from power after 16 years, with the latest polls showing him trailing the opposition party Tisza led by Péter Magyar by as much as 20 percentage points among decided voters.

“It is unacceptable when certain blackmailers in the EU not only block decisions needed for collective defence, but also threaten to halt some energy supplies to Ukraine at a time when our country’s energy system is being brutally bombed,” Ukraine’s Sybiha responded this morning.

It’s Thursday, 26 February 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.