New EU strategy: A separate plan for the Arctic

The Far North and little attention: “This is over,” promises Chancellor Friedrich Merz. At the Arctic summit in Lapland a few weeks ago, the German head of government spoke of what is now the "most critical" area in Europe. The Arctic has now become the scene of a geopolitical showdown.

The ice around the North Pole is melting, and the region is rapidly becoming more important. Soon, namely in the next decade, the existing sea routes will be more usable and new trade routes will emerge. The raw materials in the Arctic are also becoming more accessible, for example the suspected large deposits of crude oil and natural gas, and metallic substances such as iron, copper and nickel can also be found here.

So-called rare earths, which are important for future technologies and the European energy transition, are mainly found under Greenland's soil. What is happening here, explained EU Council President Antonio Costa at the same summit, "is not just a regional matter, but one for the whole of Europe."

The military significance

The region is becoming increasingly important not only economically, but also militarily. The USA wants to expand its presence in Greenland, now in consultation with Denmark. Russia is putting old Soviet military facilities in the Arctic back into operation. Russian aggression is not only taking place in Ukraine, but also in the Arctic, says the German Chancellor: "This region has become a geopolitical hotspot. Russia is building up military capacities here and it is using its presence for hybrid activities - every day."

And the Arctic can also play an important role for the digital future of the old continent. 90 percent of data traffic between Europe and Asia currently goes via cables in the Red Sea. “This is error-prone and not very redundant,” explains Annegret Bendiek from the Science and Politics Foundation. It is therefore obvious to place alternatives in the Arctic. "This would reduce the latency in data transfer, which is of great importance for stock exchange trading, for example. And with a new infrastructure in the far north, sustainability, infrastructure and security goals could also be made possible in the European interest."

Bendiek believes that this could also be a model for a partnership-based approach in times when international cooperation is under heavy pressure. "The EU is of course playing an increasingly important role in trans-Arctic cable connections, especially because it can combine these different objectives, from research to infrastructure compensation, security policy to climate protection, and can also support this financially."

Concern about the climate

In addition to the possibilities of strengthening European interests and European influence, the scientist sees the opportunity of an EU Arctic strategy primarily in "ensuring stability in the Arctic" with a view to changes in the Gulf Stream and the associated climatic challenges. This applies to all countries in the northern hemisphere. “The risk of a collapse of the Gulf Stream system is now so acute,” warns Bendiek, “that Iceland has even officially classified it as a threat to national security.” A better digital infrastructure in the Arctic also enables “a stronger early warning option for all neighboring states,” explains Bendiek, and that essentially also helps Europe.

The EU calls its Arctic strategy “Europes northern neighborhood”. Five years ago, the EU gave itself its first kind of Arctic strategy with a 20-page paper. It was primarily about economic and climate policy aspects, research and development. This strategy has now been revised in light of the rapidly changing geopolitical situation.