Good morning everybody.
It is great to be here in the Arctic and we just had a wonderful show also of planes and how it all works up here.
It is important for the Arctic, of course, the climate change is having a huge impact that is also opening a new geopolitical contest, when it comes to maritime routes, for example.
We also see that Russia is opening the ex-Soviet military bases. They are also doing missile exercises here in the high north. We also see that China is increasingly more interested in the region, so we have to remain vigilant.
That is why we are also putting forward a new EU Arctic Strategy that has security at its core, because it is clear that this is part of the security architecture of Europe. In this strategy, of course we will come out with this later in October, but clearly there will be also concrete projects.
When it comes to where security, climate change or environment are very much connected, it is also a worry that we have about Russia’s shadow fleet. These are ticking ecological bombs also in our waters, and at the same time, they are also fuelling Russia’s war in Ukraine.
So, these are all the topics that we are going to discuss today, and we will put also forward in our strategy.