Kallas: EU to update Arctic strategy to reflect changing security situation

From the EU's perspective, the Arctic is crucial to transatlantic security and requires increased attention and action, as the time has come for a new High North policy.

According to the European Bureau of Report, the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, made this statement at the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromsø, Norway.

Kallas noted that the previous Arctic strategy, back in 2008, focused primarily on environmental aspects, climate change, scientific research, and fisheries.

"One year after the EU adopted its latest Arctic strategy in 2021, Russia, the largest Arctic power, launched a full-scale war in Ukraine, raising tensions across Europe, including in the Arctic," she said.

According to her, Moscow has reopened and modernized Soviet-era military bases in the High North:

"The world's largest concentration of nuclear weapons is located on the Kola Peninsula, directly across from the Norwegian border. The Arctic has also become a testing ground for Russian missiles. Given all these facts, Europe needs to catch up."

According to Kallas, the EU, together with its member states, is updating its Arctic strategy to reflect the changed security situation, and Greenland will become a key element in ensuring the region's security.

According to her, Norway is making a decisive contribution to European security; in March, 25,000 military personnel will participate in exercises on operations in High North conditions. The EU also provides Norway with access to the SAFE defense program, and Norwegian companies are involved in European Defense Fund programs.

Kallas also spoke of "a radical change in thinking in the US, which marks a structural shift in transatlantic relations in the Arctic."

"The EU recognizes Greenland's strategic importance to the United States, but it is also crucial for the European Union. Key shipping routes pass nearby, its subsoil contains reserves of critical raw materials needed for the global economy, and it is the shortest flight path for ballistic missiles from Russia. But for the EU, it is clear that Greenland belongs to its people," she concluded.