Arctic, Kallas: New EU strategy urgently needed, covering security as well as environment

Brussels – The evolution of Europe’s position on defence, the Arctic strategy and the challenges posed by Russia and the United States: These are the topics at the heart of the speech by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, in the conference on security, at the University of Oslo. “The word for this new year is unpredictability,” Kallas declared before entering the chamber. And, at her side, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre added that there is “little time for big problems.” 

In Oslo, the conference’s first topic could be only Arctic security. “It is important to develop a new strategy for the Arctic, which is somewhat obsolete. A strategy that not only addresses environmental issues, but also security and everything that goes with it,” Kallas explained in her speech. The latest European document on the region dates back to 2021 and was only revisited in November last year. “I cannot say with certainty what this strategy will contain, because it is still being developed, but we are in contact with our partners, such as Norway, to get their input,” she explained. 

What is certain is that the “new normal” is dictated by developments in the world order, but, according to Kallas, “it does not require other institutions, but rather the implementation of decisions.” And this is where the former Estonian prime minister put back on the table the proposal by the European Commissioner for Defence, Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius, for a “European Security Council, led by the E5 plus format – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom. A proposal that, as Kubilius himself recalled, had already been put forward and discussed “between 2017 and 2019 by Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel.” 

The starting point, however, is the observation that “today, certainly, the United Nations is not functioning as it should.” Although there are “many countries that want a rules-based order”—because “most of them are medium-sized or small, and the international order is what protects them”—we must acknowledge that “if it doesn’t work, then there isn’t the necessary coverage” for states. “There are those who argue that, in reality, the rules-based international order has been an illusion,” commented the High Representative. “It has always been the law of the jungle: whoever has the power takes what they want. But even in the jungle, there are animals that cooperate. And I understand that we are in a situation where we really need to further develop international law with those countries that want a rules-based order,” she noted. 

Finally, there are threats from the east and west, Russia and the United States. “There is pressure on Ukraine to make concessions, and Ukraine is willing to do so because it wants the war to end. But how can we be sure that there will be no further aggression from Russia in the future?” asks the former Estonian prime minister. According to the High Representative, “there should also be concessions from Russia, for example, restrictions on the army or nuclear weapons, but there is no talk of this,” she pointed out. Meanwhile, “our task is to maintain or increase pressure on Russia so that it moves from fictitious to real negotiations,” she reiterated. As for relations with Washington, it is the Norwegian Prime Minister who contested the statements made by the White House tenant. “When Donald Trump says that the US gives to NATO but receives nothing in return, he is simply wrong,” he observed. “We see Russian submarines when they move, we know when they test new weapons, and we share this information with America: Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and it is not directed against us, but against the US, and I told Trump that,” he recalls. 

All this against the backdrop of the US disengagement from the Old Continent and the echo of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s words last week at the European Parliament, who said that “Europe cannot do without the United States.” This is also a fact for Kallas, and Brussels is taking action on it. “That is the situation at the moment,” she said, “but we are working to become more independent, including in terms of security.” Starting with the strengthening of European defence capabilities: “Our vulnerabilities are our weaknesses. That is why we are investing more in defence and considering security to be a European issue, not just a national one,” she concluded.