Good afternoon everyone,
Today the College adopted a Joint Communication entitled the European Northern Neighbourhood: A New Strategy for the Arctic. Of course, we will go into detail with Commissioner Síkela in a few moments.
But we also adopted a Communication entitled Vision 2040 for Fisheries and Aquaculture, which Executive Vice President Fitto and Commissioner Kadis will present to you shortly after this press conference.
That is the readout of the College meeting. We can go to the main topic of today – the EU’s updated Arctic Strategy.
The Arctic plays an important role in trade, communication, and defence. Since our previous Arctic Strategy in 2021, we face a much harsher security environment.
The Arctic is no longer insulated from the world’s geopolitical tensions. Our updated Arctic Strategy reflects this new reality by putting security firmly at its core.
The list of challenges is long, but a few stand out: Russia is expanding its military footprint in the High North. Moscow has reopened Soviet-era bases and is testing new weapons in the region. Drone incursions, GPS jamming and the sabotage of undersea cables undermine Arctic security. The increased traffic of Russia’s shadow fleet puts shipping and the environment at risk.
China’s strategic ambitions in the High North are also growing. Beijing’s investments in ports, minerals and critical infrastructure need careful scrutiny.
The bottom line is that the Arctic has become the frontline of global power competition.
All this comes because the Arctic is warming three to four times faster than the global average. Retreating ice is opening access to resources and shipping routes – and heating up competition over who controls them.
The Arctic is Europe’s Northern Neighbourhood. It is close, connected and critical to our future.
Three EU Member States – Denmark, Finland and Sweden – are Arctic nations. More than half a million EU citizens live there.
All this makes Arctic security European security. To defend our interests, we plan to step up investments in surveillance, infrastructure, military mobility, and capabilities. We will work closely with Member States and partners, while fully respecting their sovereignty.
Let me give some concrete examples:
The EU will strengthen surveillance and satellite monitoring by extending the EU’s satellite systems – Copernicus and Galileo – to better detect Arctic threats.
An Arctic Cable Hub can allow us to better monitor, protect and repair critical undersea infrastructure. This could be a first step towards a broader Maritime Security Hub to track suspicious vessels, illegal fishing, and pollution.
We will explore joint procurement and pooling to expand Europe’s icebreaker capacity. Because in the Arctic, icebreakers are the measure of power.
We also intend to improve military mobility through Arctic ports, airports and transport corridors, so forces and equipment can get where they are needed, faster.
Through the European Defence Fund, we are investing €260 million in new technologies, including aircraft that can withstand severe environments, textiles for extreme weather and over-the-horizon sensors.
The Arctic is under NATO’s watch, and all of these efforts are complementary to the Alliance’s role in collective defence.
Our second priority is building even closer regional ties in our Northern Neighbourhood. Europe is strongest when it works with its partner for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Arctic.
Closer cooperation with Norway, Iceland, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and other like-minded partners – in full respect of their sovereignty – is essential to achieving it.
We had a good European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi in September. It could serve as a model for regular high-level joint summits with our Member States and partners to discuss shared challenges and how to address them together.
In Greenland, we are investing 200 million in renewable energy, raw materials, as well as connectivity, housing, and infrastructure. We are also planning a secure submarine cable linking Greenland to Europe.
Third, economic security and sustainable development. The Arctic’s critical raw materials, clean energy and emerging trade routes matter for European competitiveness.
We will strengthen our supply chains with trusted partners, invest in renewable energy, and improve transport and digital connectivity.
This includes speeding up the implementation of the Rail Nordica project and advancing the long-term ambition to build a Pan-Arctic data cable. Commissioner Síkela can speak more about the economic aspects in a moment.
Fourth, protecting the Arctic’s environment and its people.
Economic opportunity must not come at the expense of the environment and of the people who live there. Our investments must be sustainable, respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and deliver real benefits for Arctic communities.
Europe has interests to defend, partners to work with and responsibilities to meet. Europe will not be a bystander in the Arctic.
Q&A
Q. I would like to know because the Strategy announces new things, icebreakers, cable infrastructure, surveillance capabilities, and new cooperation structures. However, some people are saying there is no budget, there is no icebreaker procurement plan, no operational timetable for the proposed Cable Hub. So, what is the one kind of concrete deliverable you can give us, you can provide, you can create in the next 12 months?
It is true that the MFF discussions are ongoing, for the future. But one very concrete thing that we can do is the upgrades for our satellites to cover also the Arctic. They are already covering part of it, but it is something concrete that we can also push forward faster.
Q. On Greenland, given the fact that our American allies are not so reliable these days, have you thought about Europe establishing its own surveillance bases in Greenland? If there are, because they could potentially be hostile activities against us, why would you allow the surveillance of Greenland to be given to a country that is less and less reliable?
We already have in the Strategy, the Cable Hub and the Maritime Security Hub that we are putting forward that are actually dealing with the surveillance and information sharing in the Arctic. And like I said before, we are open to all the countries that share our views, our values. So we are working together with Canada, with Norway, with Iceland, and also the United States if they so wish.
Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/video/I-296626