EU presents new Arctic strategy and increases military presence

The paper with which the EU has already agreed on an Arctic strategy is only five years old. And now it needs to be revised. “It was time to do that,” says Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. The Arctic is now “a place where the tectonic plates of geopolitics collide.”

Climate change in particular is changing the situation so rapidly: the Arctic is heating up three to four times faster than the rest of the world. This will, among other things, make existing trade routes more navigable and open up new ones that are also valuable for military purposes. In addition, raw materials such as rare earths are more easily accessible. Russia, China, the USA: Everyone has therefore increased interest in the northernmost part of the globe. Europe also wants to reorganize itself.

The Commission has written several key points into its strategy, for example: better use and protect shipping passages, laying cables through the Arctic, building icebreakers to Greenland and later also to Canada and Japan. It's about trade routes, raw materials, military presence. And for the EU, von der Leyen emphasizes, it is also about the local people: the Arctic belongs “to the people there, which is why they are at the center” of the European approach.

The Commission pays particular attention to shipping in the Arctic. In a study, she wants to assess the future of the new routes, which is not just about trade routes, but also about military mobility. To strengthen security in the Arctic, the Commission is proposing a new maritime security center. It is intended to monitor the situation in the region and, for example, detect attacks on underwater cables, the movements of shadow fleets or illegal fishing more quickly.

More icebreakers are also part of this plan. Finland, an EU member after all, is the world leader in development and production. But when how many icebreakers should be available under which flag - that is part of the negotiations that now have to be conducted with the member states, according to the Commission.

While the 2021 strategy paper was primarily about climate change, infrastructure, development and research, the proportion of security issues in the new strategy has increased significantly.

At least the Europeans are renewing their promise from 2021: "no drill, no buy" - they will not drill for oil, coal or gas in the Arctic or buy products mined in this way.

“We are keeping an eye on protecting the environment and the transition to climate neutrality,” promises von der Leyen. "As a region that regulates climate around the globe, the Arctic shapes weather patterns, biodiversity and sea level rise worldwide."

Around 500,000 people live in the Arctic. Three EU member states are direct neighbors: Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The strategy is “about partnership with other important allies in the region,” says von der Leyen. "We want to work with all like-minded people."