Rauti, 'the Arctic is strategic for Euro-Atlantic security'

The Arctic has become a strategic quadrant for Euro-Atlantic security. It is a need of the Italian system, of defense and of Europe. Because the Arctic was once unreachable, it was remote, it was a bit of a world apart immersed in a fairy tale. Today this is no longer the case, because the Arctic is reachable, because unfortunately, due to climate change and the melting of the ice, trade and maritime routes have opened up, so it is reachable.

This was said by the Undersecretary of Defense, Isabella Rauti, in Trieste for a panel on the Arctic as part of Barcolana 2026.

The Arctic is a treasure chest of rare earths, raw materials, strategic resources which, up until now, have been defended by nature - Rauti continued - but which are now seeing an overexposure that could unleash a wild race to exploit those resources. So there are also aspects of threats, hybrid and otherwise, that concern the Arctic. So the Arctic is not only no longer far away, it is close. It was a suburb and not only is it no longer a suburb, but it has become a frontier.