“We call for the European Union to take on a more strategic and proactive role in the European Arctic.” So read the joint declaration signed in Rovaniemi, Finland, on Monday, where German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and 11 other EU leaders met well north of Helsinki, close to the Arctic coastline.
Besides Germany, the backers were Finland, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden. The talks centred on new shipping lanes, mineral deposits and security threats from the United States, China and Russia. Arctic ice is melting and northern waters are easier to navigate. And Donald Trump’s calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland have put severe strain on NATO.
What the statement says
“We agree that the EU needs to step up its action to promote stability, sustainable development and prosperity while safeguarding its interests,” the leaders wrote. They asked for better monitoring and information-sharing, and for more investment in transport links, digital networks, military mobility and other infrastructure. They also stressed hybrid threats and the protection of critical infrastructure on land and sea.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European Council President Antonio Costa sat in on the session. No formal decisions were expected. The European Commission said the talks would feed into its new Arctic strategy, due in the next few weeks, the first since 2021. National leaders can still influence the final text, “so in that sense this is quite a timely meeting,” said Tuomas Tikkanen, senior adviser on European affairs to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
Why now
Orpo called the summit. He said the aim was “to strengthen the EU’s common strategic approach to the Arctic in this situation, where the geopolitical and economic significance of the region is growing considerably,” and has described the region as an “increasingly important part of Europe’s security environment.”
Kallas backed the Finnish line and said Brussels needed icebreakers. “Considering also climate change and the opening of maritime routes, we need icebreakers or ships that are able to navigate” in difficult polar conditions, she said.
The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than other regions, and receding ice has drawn more energy, resource and military activity from the U.S., China and Russia. In August, China and South Korea both sent container ships through the region to test the North Sea Route in Russian territorial waters.
Greenland
For Denmark and the EU, the most worrying development has come from Washington. Trump has insisted “the US must have Greenland,” citing national security, and has argued that Denmark cannot protect the island, which is not in the EU, from China and Russia. The U.S., Denmark and Greenland have set up a working group. “It’s too early to draw any conclusions but I’m quite optimistic that we can find a way,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters on Monday. The U.S. wants a bigger military presence on Greenland, which past treaties allow, and NATO has launched a new security mission in the region.
Last week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Greenland and announced a €200 million investment package, partly for infrastructure to extract raw materials. The EU would “be more engaged in Greenland and in the Arctic,” she said.
